Alluring Darkness
by ObsidianDreamer1
Summary: Thirteen years of surviving, of hiding and planning. Yet the nightmares that haunt her sleep remain as vivid in her mind as though they happened days, not years, ago. One such nightmare has driven Allura out of her bed to seek solace in the night, yet the darkness has a surprise for her and she finds that she might not be as alone as she thought...
1. Chapter 1

Alluring Darkness

Chapter 1

"Perhaps parts of her life

had been nothing more

than illusions masquerading

as moments in time."

Christy Ann Martin

It always started out pleasant, her nightmares. Her mind took her back to the _before._ Before her life ended, before her world was destroyed before her parents...it was such a pleasant memory that when the terror came, she could not scream.

 _"Allura! Allura my song, come here to mommy."_

 _"Mommy! Look at my dress?" She spun in a creation of blue satin and lace. Her hair had been pulled off of her face in a golden braided coronet around her head, blue ribbons and white star-bright woven into the strands._

 _"Oh my, you look just like a fairy princess!" Her mother had exclaimed with eyes like glittering sapphires, alight with pleasure."_

 _Allura thought her mother to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her hair was no the rich color of the sun like her hair but the pale light of the moon. Her skin, a dusky peach. She wore a gown of swirling amethyst, the ribbons trailing elegantly down her wrists. Upon her brow was circlet of platinum set with a star sapphire._

 _"Come we must not keep our guests waiting..."_

 _The scene changed and she was no longer in her bedroom, with the blue walls shot with silver and the butterflies painted on her walls, but in the grand ballroom of the palace._

 _"Papa!" Allura cried out, seeing her distinguished father milling with the rest of the guest. Like her, he wore formal garb of brilliant blue, with a sash of royal amethyst across one shoulder that held part of his cloak in place. His hair, having shaded to silver in his youth, gave him an air of incredible wisdom and his green-gold eyes spoke of laughter and kindness._

 _He was, after all, known as Alfor the Generous for a good reason._

 _"Allura, my precious child, how you look like your mother!"_

 _Her mother smiled her quiet smile and slid into his arms, a tender moment between the two ruling monarchs._

 _"Come you must meet our esteemed guests. King Zarkon has arrived with his son, Crown Prince Lotor."_

 _The scene changed again and this time Allura found herself meeting a young boy with eyes gleaming golden like a cat, dusky blue skin and long hair of true silver, not the pale blonde of her mother's hair._

 _"Are you a fairy?" The young girl she had been asked with obvious innocence to the boy's heritage._

 _"I beg your pardon?" The Prince of Drule asked with confusion. He was not familiar with the term 'fairy.'_

 _"You have pointed ears, like the pictures in my book, so I thought you might be a fairy prince."_

 _There was a sudden cough and Allura looked up to see her father, a twinkle in his gaze. She knew that look and grinned. Her father was trying very hard not to laugh._

 _"Allura, this is Prince Lotor. His ears are pointed, not because he is a fairy, but because he is Drule."_

 _"Oh." Her disappointment was evident._

 _"I would be most pleased," replied Lotor with a courtly bow before the young princess, "to hear more about this 'fairy' you mistook me for. I confess I have not much knowledge on such things."_

 _"Okay." she replied, her smile lighting up her eyes like a summer sky, "I can show you the gardens. My book said that fairies like flowers gardens the best."_

 _She then looked up at her papa, "May I?" she asked...then the dream shifted._

 _She was no longer in the ballroom, asking to take Lotor to see the gardens and talk about fairies._

 _She wasn't even on Arus anymore, but on Korrinoth, referred more as Planet Doom. Her ballgown was long gone and she wore nothing more than a tattered gray tunic, her legs a mottle of bruises, her hair in tangles about her face._

 _"PAPA! MAMA!" she screamed and screamed, even when the guards gagged her, the cloth cutting into her small mouth until blood leaked out of the corners._

 _"You will not defeat us Zarkon." she heard her father say to the man who had revealed himself to be a monster._

 _"Your 'Knight' has been destroyed. Your planet has been reduced to rubble and two thirds of your people are now my slaves." Replied Zarkon, taking a sip of red wine out of goblet of hammered gold studded with rubies. He gave a snap of his fingers and suddenly Allura saw the figure of her mother shoved next to her father._

 _Her hair was tangled liked her daughter's and her left cheek bore the stain of a bruise, as though someone had struck her across the face._

 _Gone were her regal robes of state. Instead she wore what amounted to were scraps of silk and lace that barely covered her breasts and legs. Her legs and arms bore numerous cuts and there was a dazed sort of look in her eye._

 _"You monster! What have you done to my consort!"_

 _Zarkon's smile grew even more cruel as he gazed upon her mother. "She has the most enticing of screams."_

 _King Alfor, who was known to be a gentle man, suddenly surged to his feet in rage. But Zarkon's soilder's were already there, wrenching his manacled hands back down, forcing him to his knee's._

 _"When you die, take peace knowing that your daughter shall live." Zarkon told her mother and father. "A gift...for my son when he comes of age. Should she survive, that is."_

 _At that Zarkon unsheathed his blade and Allura screamed against the gag as she watched as her beloved father's head fly from his body and landed on the floor behind him, a fountain of blood streaming from his neck._

 _There was so much blood..._

Allura woke up, the screams building in her throat. Tears were streaming down her eyes, unchecked and she breath was a ragged gasp. Her arms were locked about her body and she was rocking back and forth, desperately trying to _forget._

Allura flung off the covers and ran from the bedroom in the half-destroyed castle. She couldn't stay in the castle, not right now. Her memories were too raw, her pain too close to the surface.

A glance out of one of the repaired windows showed the moon still high in the sky. She had only been in bed for a handful of hours.

The castle was quiet and Allura quickly slipped out one of the corridors to the stairs that led to one of the parapets that formed the Castle of Lions.

The air was mild, and the slight breeze that blew held the scent of rain upon it. Still when Allura tilted her head to look at the sky, she could still make out a dozen stars and the moon bathed her in its silvery light.

"Allura, what are you doing out here?"

Allura spun, sucking in a sharp breathe as she heard the deep timbre of Commander Keith Kogane's. His voice was like midnight, all secrets and shadows that made the blood in her veins heat in the most discomforting of ways.

"K-Keith! You...you startled me, I didn't think anyone was out here."  
Allura was already backing up, trying to keep to the shadows. The tears on her face had not yet dried and she did not want this male, out of all of them, to see her like this.

"That doesn't answer my question." Keith stepped out of the shadow of the spire he had been standing in and again Allura thought she had never encountered a male more beautiful or more fascinating than him.

His hair was the color of darkness itself, the midnight shadow on a raven's wing. For a military-minded man he did not wear his hair cropped short, like Sven, but slightly long so that the edges just brushed the strong lines of his shoulder. His bangs were feathered to fall around his face so that they did not obscure his vision and as always, her fingers itched to push the jagged edges away from his eyes.

His eyes were like that of the obsidian stone, a black stone she was from earth. They seemed to absorb the light and reflect one's image back at themselves so that no one could truly see what was behind those beautiful eyes.

He wore the clothing he had first landed in, all those months ago. His red flight jacket fitted over a black t-shirt and form fitting black pants. Both jacket and pants were made of leather, a durable substance she had never encountered.

"Allura?"

Her name a question on his lips, a slash of hard sensuality that begged to be kissed, had a stain of red run across her cheekbones. She had been staring at Keith, completely forgetting he had asked a question.

"I...I just wanted some air. I'll be going now..." Allura turned quickly on bare feet and came to shocked halt when she felt warm, masculine fingers close gently around her wrist.

He wasn't wearing his flight gloves and the heat of his skin nearly scorched her own.

"Someone doesn't come out here at two in the morning just for fresh air." He said softly to her, "so why don't you tell me the real reason you're not asleep?"

"Why are you out here then?" she asked, evading his question.

"Guard duty. It's my night to stand watch."

 _Of course it is,_ Allura thought with a sigh.

A tug on her wrist and suddenly Allura was pulled out of the shadows.

"There now I can see you..." his voice died abruptly when the moonlight fell upon her slender form.

"Allura...you're arms..."

Allura glanced down and gasped in horror. She had forgotten she had been wearing her sleeveless nightgown, the only one remaining, when she had been running from her nightmares.

She _never_ went sleeveless when around other people.

"Oh golden gods! K-Keith...let me go please!"

But he did not release her wrist, instead his grip tightened and he took a step forward. Allura turned her head, not wanting to see the disgust in his eyes.

"What _happened_ to you?"

Her eyes widened as she heard the anger, the sheer rage in his voice...but there was nothing that spoke of disgust at the scars that covered her arms.

"Zarkon. Or to be more precise, his solders." She said in a soft, weary voice.

"When?" His voice was like an unsheathed blade, honed to a killing edge and she shivered at the sound of it.

"When I was six." _Just breathe, recite it like the history it is. Detach yourself._ "When Zarkon annexed our planet he took my mother, my father and myself along with royal dignitaries to Planet Doom."

She sighed, the wind playing with the strands of her hair. "You asked why I came up here? The truth is...the truth is like most people who have experienced war, I have nightmares. When I cannot sleep," _when I cannot breathe past the pain,_ "I come up here to clear my head."

"What do you see?"

His words were harsh, his voice so gentle that Allura instinctively turned her head...and the moonlight fell upon the glistening wetness on her cheeks.

Keith, his other hand not holding her wrist, reached up and wiped away the tear that slid out of the corner of her eye.

The touch was so intimate, it was a shock to her body. Her eyes widened at his touch, her mouth parting in surprise, but he did not remove his hand. Instead he slid it behind the nape of her neck and pulled her close so that their foreheads touched.

"Tell me what you see." he asked her softly, keeping her in place with gentlest of pressures that she knew she could pull away anytime.

But it had been so long since _anyone_ held her with such tenderness that she could not find the will to break away.

"The death of my parents." she whispered, closing her eyes. "I was there, in Zarkon's throne room when they were murdered."

"Christ." Keith swore, his fingers tangling in golden skeins of her hair.

She shivered again, this time the breeze pulling a little harder. Keith felt her shiver, goosebumps erupting on her skin as the night air began to drop.

Reluctantly he pulled away from her body, the intoxicating scent of her threatening to drown him in sensual pleasure. It had been a long time since he had held a woman like this.

"Keith...I..." Allura began, but he stopped her by shrugging off his jacket and draping it about her shoulders, giving her body some protection against the wind.

He skimpy nightgown, though pleasurable to behold, was damn little protection out in the open.

He also found himself not wanting any of the other sentries to see her like this. So vulnerable and so damn desirable that she threatened to cut him off at the knee's. His desire so was sudden, so violent, that it was like a punch to the gut.

"Oh! Thank you...it's so warm." Allura snuggled into his jacket and he caught the fleeting glimpse of smile on her face and felt a thread of male satisfaction go through him, seeing her marked by his clothing.

"Sure." he told her, a growl in his voice. "I don't need you catching sick. Coran would have my head."

"Ah...yes. Of course." Once more he heard the 'princess' in her voice. A woman who distanced herself so that others would not see her as just another beautiful female, but a leader worthy of respect.

He found himself angry at the tone, considering he had his fingers in her hair only moments ago.

Of course, he realized, he had used the exact same tone on her only moments ago.

"I...I should go."

"Will you go back to your bedroom?"

"No...I...not yet. I can't."

"What will you do then?"

Allura gave him a considering look, and he could see the secrets swirling in her eyes. Sapphires-in-moonlight, that was the color of her eyes. In the morning he thought they might be more akin to indigo or cerulean.

He wanted to know the secrets in her eyes. Eyes that spoke of years beyond the nineteen she had lived.

"Who else is on duty tonight?"

Keith blinked at that, for he had not expected the question out of her.

"Adam and Sig are in the control room, monitoring from the inside."

"But out here? Who else stands guard with you?"

Keith shook his head. "No one. With the sensors now up and running there isn't any need for more than one person to stand watch outside."

"Mmmm, alright. Will you stay here? I will be back in a moment."

Keith thought it an odd question, but he gave a nod of his head. Allura turned and disappeared from his sight.

Some men might have doubted her return, thinking she used it as an excuse to get away from what could potentially become and embarrassing situation.

But not Keith. He trusted her word. She said she would come back and so he would wait for her return.

Even if that meant he would stay up until the dawn lit the sky.

Allura moved on quick, silent feet, her heart in her throat. She hadn't given Keith his jacket back and the truth was, she didn't want to. It _smelled_ like him, like the wind and lightning and so potently _male_ that she could only sigh and snuggled deeper into it.

It was not his arms about her, but it was the next best thing to it. What she was about to next...she had not done in several years and never for anyone.

Not even Coran knew she did this... _and yet I told Keith I would return to him._

Allura turned the corridor to what used to be her parents room and were now just another empty room with broken furniture, dusty from disuse. Allura swallowed hard, and despite the nightmares still in her head, she crept through the room until she found what she was looking.

Taking the slim, battered case in her arms she took the object out and brushed a loving hand over it. Smiling behind her tears, she clutched it close to her chest and with a soft sigh, she slipped out of the room and quickly made her way back to Keith.

He was exactly where she left him, leaned up against the steel column. His head was tipped back, as though studying the stars.

"The constellation in the upper left is called Galyia, the Star Catcher."

Keith looked to where she had entered...and her heart quickened beneath her breast as his lips lifted in a slight smile.

"I am still learning these stars." He tilted his head until a lock of hair fell in front of one eye. "What is that you are holding? It looks like an old earth instrument called the _ehru._ "

Allura came forward, the instrument cradled close to her body.

"What is an _ehru?_ "

"Something the noble women of japan used to play a long time ago. Usually with only two strings and played with a bow."

"This has more than two strings and is not played with a bow. It is called a _kryndil."_ Allura looked to the ledge and decided it was low enough for her to sit upon.

"Will you hold this?" she asked, holding out the delicate wooden instrument with with gleaming strings.

Keith nodded and took the _kryndil_ from her and watched with narrowed eyes as she backed up to the ledge and jumped up on it.

"Allura!"

"I'm fine, Keith. Heights don't bother me and the ledge is thick enough that I have no fear of falling off." She shrugged off his jacket, despite her want to keep it on. She placed it next to her for she would not risk it falling off of her body and the sleeves were far too long for it to fit properly.

"Still..." Keith muttered darkly as he gingerly gave her back the instrument. He said nothing else as he watched her tune the stringed instrument, her fingers skimming lightly over the chords.

"Have you heard the Arusian legend of when Sypreen, the moon maiden, fell from the sky and Telimar, the star wolf, went looking for her?"

Keith gazed at her with a surprised look. "No," he said slowly, wondering if she was going to do what he thought she was, "will you tell me the story?"

With a nod of her head, Allura placed the _kryndil_ across her lap and began moving her fingers along the strings, a haunting melody that strongly reminded Keith of the sound the _ehru_ made...and then she began to sing.

Her voice was soft and so pure a sound, Keith forgot how to breathe for moment from the sheer beauty of her voice.

 _An angel,_ he thought with a dazed kind of feeling, _a space angel has fallen to my side and I am listening to her song._

It took him a moment to focus on the words of her song...and found the legend she sang of full of poignant longing and love lost and then found once again. He was not ashamed to admit to the tears that gathered behind his closed eyes and listened to the princess of Arus sing to him.

It was a memory, he knew, that would forever be tucked away in the secret part of his soul. He would never speak to this to anyone, this was his and his alone.

His opened of their own accord when her voice stopped and he found an ache deep inside himself, an open chasm where her voice had filled him. She had set her instrument to the other side of her body and watched him eyes that seemed ageless.

"Allura...I..."

"Shhh," she told him when he had moved closer to her, unable to remember when he had moved, and leaned down to touch his lips with her fingers. "Say nothing else. I have a confession to make."

Keith waited, a stillness over him that was born of years of rigorous discipline, for her to continue speaking. He did not even try to move her fingers from his lips.

"I have...to this day...never played for anyone."

 _Except I played for you,_ her eyes told him and this time Keith did not curb the impulse that had struck him the moment he had laid eyes upon her, in that tunnel beneath Arus.

Reaching up to capture the nape of her neck again, he pulled her further down, as his arm slid around her waist, anchoring her in place.

"Keith..what...are..." her words were lost for his mouth captured hers, his mouth slanted over hers, nibbling and sucking on her lips until she opened her mouth to his...and groaned with uninhibited desire as his tongue slid into her mouth.

Coaxing, exploring her mouth, he lit off a thousand fireworks behind her eyes and she closed them, rocked by the sensation of his lips upon hers.

They were at once demanding yet utterly gentle with her, until her hands were braced on his arms and she made a soft, needy sound, that soon had her off the ledge and backed up against it, his body pressed intimately against hers.

She was no longer cold, but burning from the inside out. He was melting her bones with his desire, the force of his sensuality overwhelming her mind.

She met his mouth, kiss for kiss, greedy for the taste of him. She had waited all of these months for him to kiss her like this.

But as quickly as it had started, he was suddenly thrusting her away from him, both of their breathing harsh in the silence that was the night.

"Keith...I...that is..."

"Don't." Keith told her with such soft menace that Allura actually gasped softly, "apologize. I am not sorry I kissed you."

"Neither am I."

Keith shot her a hard look, but she lifted her head to look at him straight in the eyes. "I may not be as...experienced as you," she told him despite the fierce blush on her face, "but I am _not_ a child. I knew exactly what I was doing."

Keith jerked a hand through his hair. "Allura...I can't give you what you want..."

"Did I ask you for anything?"

This time Keith jerked his head to look at her and she gave him a soft, beguiling smile that would have dropped him to his knee's, had he not locked them at that moment.

She took a step closer to him, until once more their bodies were only inches from each other. "My life ended when I was six," she told him softly, not breaking eye contact, "my parents murdered, my world destroyed. I have little knowledge in the matters of love...or the intimacy between a man and a woman."

When Keith opened his mouth, she forestalled him by once more placing her fingers on his lips. "But that doesn't mean I regret what happened. This night...it will be nothing more than a lovely dream, for the both of us. In the morning I will go back to be the leader of my people and you will go back to being the leader of the Voltron Force."

She removed her fingers and pressed a soft, tender kiss to his mouth. "But just for this one night, I wanted to only be with you, as Allura. A woman, not as a princess or a member of the Voltron Force or the leader of a destroyed planet."

She pulled away from him and picked up her instrument, well aware of his eyes upon her.

"Good night...Keith."

She walked away and did not look back, despite the hum in her bones, the ache in her body from his touch. Her mind was, for once, at peace and the nightmares no longer held sway for her.

Keith had given her a memory to fight them off. She had just reached the doorway when she _thought_ she might have heard his voice, speaking.

"Good night...my Allura."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I cannot express my gratitude, or my pleasure, for everyone who read my story and especially for those who left a review. You words are like music to my soul. I hope this latest chapter does not disappoint.

 **Disclaimer:** I have not, nor will I ever, own Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Like it? Hate it? I want to know all about it.

Chapter 2

"She always had

that about her, that

look of otherness, of

eyes that see things

much too far, and of

thoughts that wander

off the edge of the

world."

Joanne Harris

"Pr...Allura, what are you doing?"

"Reconnaissance, Coran. The Drule, for whatever reason, have stopped activity in our area for over a month now. I am not about to waste this opportunity." Allura replied as she placed the saddle on the _tuurvak,_ the horse-like animal that was more akin to a reptile than a mammal.

Although Allura tried not to become too attached to anything, for she knew all to well how lives could end in an instant, she had to admit to a fondness for this particular tuurvak, whom she named Bix.

"You're not planning on going topside are you?"

Allura could hear the fear in every syllable of the retired instructors voice and did not blame him for that fear. They had lived little better than animals underground, despite a few of the cities that had sprung up in the past seven years.

"I am." Allura said, the steel in her voice unmistakable. "Coran, I know you are scared but I _refuse_ to live my life always shrouded in fear. We are not the same people we were nearly two months ago! For the first time we were able to not only _defeat_ a Robeast but we managed to send Zarkon's fleet running without a single loss of life!"

"And now you would risk _your_ life for this...this foolishness!"

Allura took in a deep breath, trying to calm the anger that was building inside of her. _Breathe,_ she told herself, _he is worried about you. He has been like an uncle to you, family. He too remembers what it is like to lose those most precious to him._

She told herself this, but the anger would not abate. She was tired of having her orders countermanded by him. Despite her young years as a ruler, she was _not_ stupid nor foolhardy.

"Coran," she said with a sharpness in her voice that made the older male clamp his lips shut and severe lines of displeasure to bracket his mouth, "While I appreciate your council, I _am_ doing this."

"What's with all the yelling?"

Allura swallowed hard at the sound of Keith's voice. It seemed like only yesterday that she had awoken in the midnight hours, her head full of nightmares only to find Keith waiting in the darkness and sung to him _Talimer's Loss,_ and not a few weeks. Allura busied herself by making sure the saddle was buckled properly and the packs secured into place.

 _Breathe,_ she told herself yet again, only this time it wasn't anger that made her heart beat fast in her chest. _It's only Keith. Just think of him as Commander Kogane._ She remembered her words from that.

 _"_ _This night...it will be nothing more than a lovely dream, for the both of us."_

So it had been, for both had awoken in the morning with their usual courtesy with each other, nothing out of the ordinary. She had gone about her duties to her people while Keith met with Coran and the rest of the Lion pilots.

No more secret songs, no stolen kisses beneath the silent moon.

But that didn't stop her breath from catching at the sound of his voice, her heart to beat just a little faster when he stood in the same room as herself.

"Allura?"

Allura schooled her expression to one of resolve and pushed away the memory of his mouth upon hers from her mind.

"I'm going, Commander. I know Coran's concern but staying underground does not tell us anything about the planets recovery."

Keith frowned as Allura came around the tuurvak, her face so remote as to be carved of alabaster. She wore that severe black pantsuit paired off with that full-sleeved, high collar shirt of slated blue she was so fond of. The dark colors only accented the pale rose of her skin, making her lustrous eyes stand out even more. Today they looked cerulean. The golden beauty that was her hair had been tamed back into a tight, thick braid.

 _She has her 'mask' on again,_ he thought with an annoyance he didn't want to look at too closely. _I can see why Coran is concerned._

"There are others who can go topside." He told her, folding his arms over his chest. He still wore his tight, short-sleeved black shirt but this time it was paired with semi-fitted beige pants.

He still had on his flight gloves and the military boots he kept from his days with the marines.

Allura narrowed those glowing eyes at him and he was beginning to know that look all too well.

She was not in the mood to be swayed or persuaded by him...or anyone else for the matter.

 _I should just kiss that look off of her face._ The thought startled him so much he nearly missed her next words.

"...are too afraid to leave the caverns. I am not about to ask my people to do something I am unwilling to do myself."

"Princess..." Coran said before he could stop himself and Keith nearly winced at the dagger look she sent her adviser.

" _Stop_ calling me that. I'm going Coran. I should return in a few hours." She detached the communicator she had on her belt. "Pidge can you hear me?"

" _Loud and clear Allura._ "

She raised an arched eyebrow a both men. "As you can see I am neither _foolish,_ " she shot Coran a cool look, "nor careless. I have the communicator and Pidge can monitor my location at all times."

"Fine," replied Keith, holding up a hand to a blustering Coran and a shocked but delighted Allura, "I won't stop you _but_ I will be going with you." He with watched with grim satisfaction when her delight turned to shocked anger.

" _Commander,"_ her voice was like a whip across his skin, and he admitted to a perverse sense of pleasure at seeing her mask crack just a little with her anger, "I do not need a babysitter! I can go by myself."

Keith took the steps that brought him within inches of her body. He towered over her by only four inches, but it still made her tilt her head up to meet his gaze.

This close he could see her pupils dilating at his close proximity, heard the slight hitch in her breath. She smelled of sunlight and crystal, of elusive flowers he could not put a name to.

"You are," he said in soft, commanding tones that captured her attention immediately, "the last of the royal line. If you were killed, what do you think would happen to your people? If something were to happen to you, who would pilot the Blue Lion? You would cripple Volton, leave your planet defenseless."

His words were like a slap to her face. Heat suffused her face and her eyes glittered dangerously, but she did not refute his words.

They were hard and cruel and yet she could not deny the truth of them.

"Very well, Commander, you may join me." She said these words through gritted teeth.

Allura turned from him to look at Coran, who had suddenly turned quiet and observant over the matters. "I trust this will put your fears to rest?"

Coran nodded his head. "If Commander Kogane is to accompany you then I have no more objections in the matter."

He turned back to Keith and gave the young leader a stern look. "You _will_ check in every hour." It was not a request.

The tone of his voice was so reminiscent of his former drill Sargent in the marines that Keith had to check the impulse to salute Coran. "Acknowledged."

Coran gave a nod of his head and turned away from the corral where the tuurvak were kept.

He turned back to Allura, who was watching him with guarded eyes.

"Shall we?"

"I didn't know this was here."

Keith took in the vista, the landscape dotted with green shrubs and the leaves starting to unfurl among the willowy tree's.

But it was the lake that caught his attention. It was like a mirror, reflecting the shimmering sun back at them. The teal water was so clear, he would swear he could practically see down to the bottom.

"Before the planet was reduced to sand and crumbling stone, my planet was renowned for the purity of our lakes and oceans." Allura commented in an off-hand manner as she pulled a small device out of her saddlebag.

"What is that?" Keith asked, sliding off of his own tuurvak but not making a movement to go near her.

"I asked Hunk to design a device that will allow me to test the radiation levels in the soil and the acidic levels in our lakes and streams."

"Why would you..." Keith ask but she was already answering his question before he could complete it.

"With all the bombs that were dropped on my planet, and the radiation that is in inherent to a Robeast, it was impossible to live above ground. We had to find the caves that went deep below the surface, to where the radiation did not penetrate. We tried living in the ruined cities for the fist couple of months...until the eldest among us began dying out and those women who were left behind, began having stillborn babies."

Her voice was clipped...and yet sadness filled every corner, horror in each syllable as she remembered how her people continued to die, even though the Drule had stopped their daily raids.

Keith clenched his fist, wishing at that moment he could rip out Zarkon's jugular and force feed it to him at hearing the pain, the unrelenting loss in her voice.

"So now you're checking to levels to see if it is safe again. When was the last time they were checked?"

Allura stuck what amounted to a thermometer into the ground and watched the readings on the small, hand held unit.

"Five years ago."  
Keith blinked at that. "Say that again."

Allura shot him a look, thinking he mocked her, but when he continued to stare at her, she sighed. "Five years ago," she repeated, "was the last time we made a forage out of the caves to check the planet's surface."

"Because of the radiation levels, right?"

But once more Allura shook her head, the glint of hair catching the light in the movement. "No. Zarkon's patrols were irregular, there was no pattern to their behavior. It made predicting their attacks nigh impossible. After losing several expeditions to slavery and death...my people became to scared to leave the underground."

"And now?"

"The soil radiation is at acceptable levels now. We could actually grow crops on the surface and not have to worry about being poisoned or having them wither before taking root." Allura replied as the device beeped at her.

She moved with a lithe grace to her feet. "I need to check the lake water. Just because the soil is good doesn't mean the water is."

"Allura," Keith said, moving to intercept her, "That is not what I meant."

Allura shifted her eyes and blew out a breath. _I know that Keith,_ she thought silently as she stared at the lake, _but you seem to keep finding my secrets when I barely know how to look for yours._

"It is...as I told you that day in the castle..." she told him, her voice softening. "You brought hope to my people when hope had been nothing but a dream, seemingly forever lost to us."

She looked at him then, unable to stop the tender look that came into her eyes as she gazed upon his striking face. "You gave me.. _.us_...a great gift. I will not waste it by hiding away. If my people are to reclaim their lives, I _must_ show them that we still have the courage to live."

Keith gazed at her for the longest time, as the seconds stretched into minutes Allura became uncharacteristically self-conscious under the weight of his stare.

"Why do you look at me like that?" she asked when she could no longer bear the weight of the silence between them.

"Because I am in awe of you."

Allura blinked at him and frowned. "Commander...I don't appreciate your jokes right now. I was being serious." She could not help the bewildering hurt in her voice. She had shared something...private with him and he was treating her words like something to be laughed at.

"So am I." His words were soft but that did not blunt the strength behind them.

Once more his words caught her off guard and she did not know how to react to them.

A strand of hair had worked itself loose from her confining braid, falling over her head piece, like an errant ray of sunlight down her face. Keith reached out and tucked it back behind her ear.

"I served with the marines when I turned eighteen," he told her in that soft, hypnotic way he had with his words and Allura realized he was giving her a glimpse into his life he rarely spoke about, "and I had never met a more fierce, courageous or loyal group of men and women in my life."

His fingers slid down her face to tilt her face up to look at him, "Until I met you, Allura. I have never met _anyone_ who holds a candle to your courage, your sense of loyalty and your sheer will to not only survive, but to _live_."

They were so close that their shadows mingled as one upon the ground and she dared not breathe, least she break this fragile spell between them.

"Believe me, Allura. Believe in _me."_

"I do...," she whispered, wondering if she was dreaming yet again, "Keith...I..."

" _Hey Allura! You copy out there!"_

Keith and Allura jumped apart, that fragile moment lost as Lance's voice broke over the comm unit.

"Uh...Lance, yes I'm here." Allura replied, fumbling with the button to respond. "I thought Pidge was on comm duty today?"

" _He was,"_ replied the cheerful, slightly accented voice on the other end, _"but he was needed for some kind of systems input for the new_ holding _bay's for the Lions. So your man Lance is here for you."_

Allura didn't answer but looked up at Keith...who had turned his back on her to move to the lake with the device to check the acidic levels in the lake.

" _Yo! You still there?"_

"Yes Lance...I'm still here. We've almost completed sector three. Soil radiation levels are in the green. Keith is still waiting for the readings from the lake."

 _"That's great! Uh...isn't it?"_

Allura could only smile at Lance's antics. Honestly she wondered if he had a serious bone in his body. "Yes, it's good. It means we might actually have a chance at growing food above ground."

" _Excellent...so what about those lake reading's? Our fearless leader slacking off out there with you?"_

"Acidic levels are also in the green," Keith replied on his own comm unit, cutting in between their dialogue. "Get this information over to Coran immediately. We'll contact you when we've finished with sector four."

" _Yes Sir...man thought the sun and fresh air would lighten your mood Commander,"_ Lance replied over the comm, his voice cheerfully disgruntled, " _You should have brought me along Allura, I know more about agriculture than our yon Jedi Master."_

Keith glared at the comm, which made Allura laugh, though she did not understand his reference to 'Jedi Master'. "I'll remember that for later, I promise." Allura told the brash young pilot.

" _You better. Lance over and out."_

Allura looked at Keith, who still had that displeased look on his face as he put his own comm away.

"Jedi Master?" she asked, her tone one of confused curiosity.

Keith ran a hand through his hair, a gesture she was starting to pick upon when he was annoyed, "A reference to an old earth movie. Come on, Sector four isn't going to diagnose itself."

The smile on Allura's slipped away all too soon as she realized the tender side he had shown her only moment ago, was gone.

The only thing she had as a reminder that it hadn't been an illusion, a fever dream brought on by too much sun, was the fact that a tiny lock of hair was tucked gently behind one ear.

 _I am not the only one with secrets...with scars,_ she reminded herself, _so I must tread carefully with him._

She hoped, one day, that he would trust her enough to tell her about his life on Earth.

 _Believe me, Allura. Believe in_ me.

She kept his words tucked close to her heart. She knew, without a shred of doubt, she would always believe in him.

Now all she needed to do was get him to believe in her as well


	3. Chapter 3 Part I

**Author's Note:** So I have had quite a few questions asking if my story follows the cartoon or the comic books. I thought I had mentioned it at the beginning, but let me reiterate. My story follows the comics published from Image/DD (Devil's Due). It it _slight_ A.U but for time-line purposes it takes place after the first arc (Image) but before the second arc (DD). There is a four month gap between the arc. This is where my story takes place.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever owned **Voltron.** I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Like it? Hate it? I want to know about it!

Alluring Darkness

Chapter 3 (part I)

"She was a silent fighter,

with a demon in her lung,

That stole her breaths right from her,

Before they'd hardly pass her tongue,

He was a silent fighter,

Who was always taught to share,

And held his breath when he was with her,

Just so she could have his air."

-E.H

 _Another meeting down,_ Allura thought as she made her way slowly through the castle, _and I still have much to do before the sun sets._

She was suppose to take a group of architects and geologists up to the surface to plan the layout of the first village above ground. The group would include several members of the Voltron Force, Keith being one of them. They weren't suppose to meet up for another three hours but she had decided to come and find Keith to discuss the joint venture.

 _So where could he be? I know he isn't underground because I've just come from there. So..._ her train of thought derailed as soon as she heard minute sounds coming from an unused weapons room. Curiosity piqued as to what was causing the noise, Allura turned the corner...

…and came to a dead halt when she found Keith inside.

He was in the middle of the nearly empty room, dressed in a simple black sleeveless top that exposed the broadness of his shoulders and the long, lean muscles of his arms to her widened gaze. The top was tucked into the top of those form-fitting red, leather pants that he was so terribly fond of.

 _I never realized how powerful he is,_ Allura thought with feminine appreciation, _or how graceful his hands are._

She watched with avid eyes as his body moved and flowed, his hands moving through the air in graceful arcs. His movements reminded her of tree's in the wind, bending and blowing...but never breaking.

"What are you doing Commander?"

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

His body stopped moving with such deftness of movement, it left her blinking in surprise as he opened his eyes to look at her.

"It's called T'ai-chi. A meditative martial arts we practice on Earth."

"T'ai-chi," she repeated tasting the foreign word on her lips, deciding she liked the name. "It is similar to our defensive martial arts style."

Keith gave her a look of surprise. "You practice martial arts?"

Allura arched a slender, golden eyebrow at him as she leaned up against the door frame. Her arms were folded beneath her breasts. "Why do I hear surprise in your voice Commander?" she asked, her tone holding caustic amusement, "do women of Earth not practice martial arts?"

"No, of course not," he replied and then realized how it sounded, "I mean, yes, of course they do. It's just that..."

"Just _what_ Commander?" Her voice filled with cheerful menace and Keith sighed, knowing he was only digging himself even deeper beneath those indigo eyes of hers.

"Care to show me a demonstration, _Princess_?" _If she wants to use titles, then I will oblige her._

Allura, who normally got _very_ riled whenever someone used that particular word on her, merely blinked yet again in surprise.

"You...you want me to show you our defensive style?"

Keith gave her a peculiar look. "Didn't I just say that. I am always interested in the marital arts of other cultures. Unless you don't want to, that is."

"Oh no, no...I mean, yes I can give you a demonstration," she replied hastily and then let out a soft laughter, "but first I need to change my clothes."

She unfolded her arms to indicate to the dress that she was currently wearing. "Obviously I cannot do that in this." _This_ being the pale lavender gown that fell to the floor, a bodice of dark magenta that molded her chest and hips like some kind of armor, capped off with long sleeves that were cuffed at the wrists.

Keith gave a nod of his head, and then indulged in a curiosity of his. "Why do you wear so many dresses? I was under the impression you prefer pants."

Allura sighed and decided to answer his question. "I just came from a meeting with some of the elders." She said by way of explanation, as though that simple statement was his answer.

Keith gave her a blank look and Allura rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"There are _some,_ " she continued, "who still continue to adhere to the more...arcane...traditions of Arus. One of them being that the royal women of Arus do _not_ wear pants when conducting meetings. The elders will not meet with me, will not heed my words, _unless_ I appear before them 'as befitting a woman of royal stature and not that of a male'. That's a direct quote by the way." she told him archly as he tried, in vain, to hold back his amusement at her aggrieved tone.

"Hence the dresses."

"Hence the dresses." she echoed with a long-suffering sigh. "Will you stay here? I will be back in only a moment."

Keith felt a sense of deja vu at her words. It had been nearly two and half months since their encounter on the roof the castle, her words now an echo of that night.

 _"Mmmm, alright. Will you stay here? I will be back in a moment."_

 _"_ Yes," he found himself telling her, "I will stay."

This time it was Allura nodding her head and she slipped out the door, a small, pleased smile upon her face that he could not see.

 _I can't believe I agreed to do this,_ Allura thought as she did not-quite run through the halls, but walked rather quickly. She knew she had a thousand and one other details she should be seeing to but... _I haven't been alone with him since three weeks ago when we did that land survey..._

"Oh Princess!"

"No, _not_ princess Suryn, it's Allura, remember?" hissed out a voice.  
Allura looked up from her mussing at the sound of feminine voices in the castle. She found, to her startled pleasure, that she knew both of the girls.

The first, who had made the mistake of addressing her as princess, was a petite red-head with pale green eyes who went by the name of Suryn. She was, as far as Allura knew, fifteen years of age.

Her companion, the one who had whispered her mistake, was Bexa. She was taller than Suryn, nearing Allura's height and fast approaching eighteen years of age. Her eyes were the color of washed out periwinkle and her hair was pale brown touched with gold, like ripening wheat left in the sun.

Both women wore simple dresses, Suryn the color of burnt cinnamon with small, capped sleeves with the hem just barely covering her knee's. Bexa's dress was a little longer but still showed off her slim ankles, the color a washed out gray, but with a lovely dark blue sweater, the sleeves pushed back to her elbows and tied around her waist with a simple cord.

The girls were related, cousins. Both had lost their parents in the war but had surviving relatives that had taken the girls in.

"Bexa, Suryn," Allura greeted them warmly, "what brings you to the castle...and what is in your baskets?"

Both girls clutched brown, woven baskets by the handles.

"Hello Allura," Bexa greeted with a smile, "Suryn and I have the first batch of cakes with this year's fruit harvest."

"We...umm...were hoping to share some with the members of the Voltron Force. Since, of course, they're the reason we could make them in the first place." Suryn added, a dark blush across her fair skin.

Allura gave them amused looks. She had a pretty good idea who they were actually looking for. "Well," Allura said as though seriously considering their question, "I'm afraid the only member of Voltron in the castle right now is Commander Kogane."

"Oh...really..." replied a clearly disappointed Suryn and Allura relented in her mild teasing.

"However," she continued with a smile, "I do know that Hunk is meeting with Coran and few of the other architects in the western cavern. Pidge and Lance are in the bay that holds Green Lion running diagnostics and Sven, I am certain, is in the cavern with Blue Lion."

Both girls looked at her with delighted smiles.

"Thank you Allura!"

"Oh thank you Pr...I mean Allura!"

Allura gave them indulgent smiles. "My pleasure. Is there anything else Bexa?" she asked when the girl didn't immediately follow Suryn as she began moving away from her.

"You said Commander Kogane is here...right?"

Something tightened in Allura's stomach at her interest in the obsidian eyed male, "Yes, that's right." Allura forced herself to answer with a calm mien.

"Do you know where to find him?"

Ice slipped down her spine and her palms began to tingle. "Yes, I've seen him today. Why do you ask Bexa?"

Bexa grinned at her and slipped her hand into her basket, pulling a simple brown wrapped package. "Good, then you can give this to the Commander. Suryn and I hunted all over the palace and we didn't find anyone except for you."

Something loosened in Allura as she realized Bexa wasn't actually looking for Keith, just confirming that she knew how to find him.

"Oh...of course, yes I'll make sure he gets this."

The smell alone was making her mouth water. "I'm sure he'll love it."

Bexa was grinning at her, a definitely twinkle in her periwinkle eyes. "Yes, I'm sure he will. Bye Allura, make sure the Commander get's that from us!"

She was already grabbing Suryn's hand and leaving the castle for the tunnels.

Somehow Allura was sure Bexa had pulled something on her...she just wasn't sure what it was just yet.

 _Enough,_ she told herself and dropping her dignity, she ran for her bedroom, _If I don't return soon Keith will think I left him alone!_

Allura made it to her bedroom without anyone noticing her, for which she was grateful. She rooted through the broken dresser that housed her meager supply of clothing and found what she was looking for.

She began undoing the gold clasp at her throat and then the cuffs and allowed the sleeves to fall away.

With a sigh Allura wrestled with the buckle that was attached to her her bodice. The bodice was originally designed to be armor for Arusian soldiers, but with a little modification from a surviving member of the Weaver's Guild, it was now outfitted for her use. Coran had assured her that it would not only stop bow and knife attacks but that of laser fire as well without killing her outright.

As the bodice fell away from her body and the cloth around her throat, Allura did something that was rare for her.

She turned and looked into the cracked mirror atop her broken dresser. Her arms bare before her eyes she could just barely make out the dozens of tiny white lines that marked both arms from wrist to shoulder.

She knew those marks would soon become more visible when she worked up a sweat. Swallowing, Allura turned sideways and pulling her hair up into a tight tail, craned her neck so that she could get a look at her naked back.

Over half a dozen diagonal white scars ran from the top of her shoulder to the base of her spine. They were not long scars, as they had been done when she was but a child, but there was no mistaking them for what they were.

Whip marks. A few of the scars were raised where they crossed her spine. Allura closed her eyes, making a soft choking sound as the memories surfaced.

 _Her wrists burned where they were tied above her head. She had never felt such pain, such agony. Her feet dangled off of the floor, one shoe lying forgotten on the broken stone. There had been a ripping sound as the ragged tunic suddenly fell around her slim shoulders and she felt cold air hit her now naked back...a crack like thunder split the air...and she began screaming as fire lit her back and something warm and wet slid down her shoulders, past her hips and legs to make wet, dripping noises like water...but the copper smell in the air was not water but her own blood..._

Allura clamped her lips shut, biting down so hard that the muscles stood out on her face. _I will not scream, I will not scream..._ It was a litany in her head as she pushed the memories back into that black box that she tucked far away into a corner of her soul, where it belonged.

This, along with her arms, was why she never went sleeveless and never wore anything that dipped below the neck.

She did not want to see the look of horror, of pity, in the eyes of her people or anyone else, at what had been done to her.

It was also the reason she hated mirrors...and yet some day's the compulsion to look at what had been done to her body hit her hard and she could not help but look in the cracked glass.

Allura calmed her breathing, forced her limbs to stop shaking and went back to removing the rest of her clothing. She picked up the top she had pulled out of her drawer...and frowned when she put it on.

The tight sleeves only fell to her elbow, leaving her forearms exposed to the light of the day. The top, unlike the rest of her wardrobe, had a scoop neckline that left her collarbones exposed...and thanks to the bra she now wore, pushed up her breasts until just a hint of cleavage could be seen from above the neckline.

 _Wonderful,_ she thought, _Keith is going to think I'm offering him an...an invitation rather than a demonstration!_

It shouldn't matter to her what she wore. She wasn't there to put on a fashion show, but a demonstration. She knew Keith wouldn't care what she was wearing.

 _Not that he see's me as a woman anyway,_ she thought with a resigned sigh. It was over two months since their kiss...and there was nothing, in private or public, that hinted that he ever thought about it.

About that night. Or them.

Shaking her head at her thinking, and calling herself an idiot for it she pulled out the other piece of her clothing, a pair of supple pants that was very similar in the weave of Keith's favored leather, that belonged to her mother.

It had been part of a riding outfit, the only pair of pants Allura was certain her mother ever wore.

The were were tapered through the waist and legs, with just barely a flair at the ankle so that a riding boot could have been worn beneath them. Allura was lucky for the flair, for she was several inches taller than her mother, and the extra material just barely covered said ankle.

Allura made to leave the room...and stopped and stared at her scar covered arms. Despite the girls assurances that they hadn't seen anyone else in the castle except for her, she still felt...exposed.

 _Just in case,_ she thought as she pulled out a pair of silver cuffs that would cover from wrist to mid forearm. It would not cover all the scarring, but it was better than nothing at all.

She just hoped that Keith was still there, waiting for her return.


	4. Chapter 4 part II

**Author's Note:** As you can see the quote is the same, because it is the continuation from the previous chapter. Sorry to anyone who was hoping for a new quote. Also please forgive all grammatical errors, for they are mine and mine alone. Again a reminder to all, this does have a **T** rating but I strongly advise that you be at least **16** years of age to read this story.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned **Voltron.** I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Many, many thanks for all the awesome reviews! More please!

Chapter 4

part II

"She was a silent fighter,

with a demon in her lung,

That stole her breaths right from her,

Before they'd hardly pass her tongue,

He was a silent fighter,

Who was always taught to share,

And held his breath when he was with her,

Just so she could have his air."

-E.H

Keith was still there, just like he said he would be.

Only this time he wasn't standing, but sitting. Crossed legged on the floor, his hands at rest upon his knee's.

Allura was familiar enough with the art of meditation and knew him not to be asleep.

"K...Commander?"

He was on his feet with swift, fluid grace that Allura could only stand there and admire the efficiency of his movements.

He gave her clothing a once over, yet the sweep of his eyes was like a tangible caress across her body that made her instinctively want to tug the top up closer to her throat.

"So you wear white now?"

 _I suppose I was right about him not seeing me as a woman after all,_ Allura thought and then gave herself a 'mental' shake for feeling disappointed about it. Perhaps the flash of heat she had seen in those dark eyes had been nothing but a trick of the light...or her own vivid imagination painting something that wasn't truly there.

"Such wonderful observation skills you have Commander," she replied back, her voice taking on a tone of lightness as to take the sting out of her words, "Yes I wear white. On occasion."

Allura crossed the room and went to put her things down on a slightly battered box that had been shoved into a corner. She caught his profile out of the corner of her eye...and realized he was staring at her exposed arms.

Allura let out a soft breath, the length of her hair sliding in front of her face as she bent down. "If the sight of my arms bother you," she said quickly, "I can put the cuffs on."

 _Anger in his voice, like blade unsheathed as he stared at her uncovered arms for the first time. "What_ happened _to you?"_

Allura shook of the memory as she moved to pick up one of the proffered items when suddenly his hand was pushing it back on the crate.

"It doesn't bother me," his voice was calm almost to the point of being remote, "You don't have to hide them for my benefit."

A tightness in her body that she hadn't even been aware of suddenly loosened and she found she could breathe a little easier.

"Alright."

She was already straightening when Keith disappeared from her side.

"Do you need to warm up first?"

"Yes, do you mind?"

"No. Let me know when you're ready."

Keith went back to the center of the room and continued with his meditation.

She watched him out of the corner of her eyes as she stretched out her muscles, feeling them limber up.

There was a sense of stillness about him, as though all that power in his body was simply waiting to be released.

"I'm ready." she told him after five minutes of warming up her muscles. Once more he was on his feet with that fluid grace that reminded her of large cat uncurling itself for the hunt.

"Do you want to watch first...or would you like me to walk you through the movements?"

Keith studied her for a moment, before giving a shake of his head and moving away from the center of the room.

She waited for his response, but he did not speak but merely made his way to the far wall and leaned up against it, his arms crossed over his chest in what could only be called in indolent position.

"I'll watch first," he told her, his dark eyes searing as they followed her as she made her way to the spot he had previously occupied, "then I'll join you."

The way his gaze tracked her movements once more forcefully reminded her of a large, stalking cat.

Swallowing hard, Allura gave him her side profile and centered herself.

"No shoes?"

Allura automatically wiggled her bare toes on the cold concrete. "If I wear shoes, how am I feel the floor beneath my feet?" Her voice was tranquil, yet he narrowed his eyes as though detecting the slightest hints of laughter floating through her words.

He had the distinctive feeling she was teasing him.

Closing her eyes, she blocked out the fact that she had the undivided attention of this gorgeous male.

 _If you are to learn, you must learn to block out all sight, all sound. All distractions are to be ignored, Allura._ It was the first piece of advice Coran had given her before beginning her instructions into the world of martial arts.

The advice stood her in good stead now.

Eyes still closed, Allura centered her breathing, slowed her heart rate and shifted her feet until she felt her body balance...and then she began to move.

Keith sucked in a silent breath as Allura began to demonstrate Arusian martial arts. Her movements...they reminded him of the flow of water. Bending and twisting, as though she had no bones at all, she was a thing of beauty to behold.

Her outfit accented the long, lithe lines of her body. Though she was by no means muscular, there was sense of strength about her form.

 _The way she moves...it is as though she dances,_ he thought with admiration, _but it is a dance based on pure defense._

The sharp movements of her hands, the precise way she turned on the balls of her feet, each was designed to protect her body. He could see, after a few minutes, how similar her style and his T'ai-chi were to each other.

Ten minutes later, a light sheen of perspiration on her skin, she came to a flowing stop, her position the same as the one she started at.

"Did you want another demonstration before joining me?" She asked, opening her eyes.

"No," replied Keith coming to stand by her side, just a few feet apart, "I think I have a good grasp of the base movements."

Allura blinked at him once, but did not try to stop him.

"When you're ready." he told her, moving into position. Though he wore flat soled shoes, he did not seem to find difficulty in mirroring her stance.

Allura gave a nod of her head...and once more her body began to flow.

Except this time she kept her eyes open...and marveled when Keith matched her movement for movement, their bodies completely in sync with each other.

A deep sense of pleasure filled her, watching him go through the movements with her. All too soon, though, it ended.

"What do you call this?" he asked as his arms finished the last arc and came to rest at his sides.

" _Kyros Dai,"_ she replied and smiled at his look of puzzlement, "it is ancient Arusian. The simplest translation means 'Breath of Water'."

"Breath of Water," Keith replied, "It is an apt description. When did you begin your studies?"

Allura gave him a light smile that did not quite reach her eyes. "When I was seven," she replied and then decided to ask one of her own, "When did you begin your first lesson?"

"When I was six," he told her, his voice tight. His hand closed into an involuntary fist as he continued speaking, "my father taught me."

Allura was startled to hear that his father had taught him and before she could ask him more about it he turned the questions back to her. "Why did you start at seven? I thought Coran would have taught you sooner than that."

"And so he would have," she replied with a forced lightness she did not feel, "had I been able."

Keith did not ask her to elaborate because at that moment her saw the movements of her fingers trace a scar upon her arm. It took no leap of logic to assume that she must have needed time to recover to...whatever had been done to her.

"So is Kyros Dai just a means for defense?"

Allura nodded her head as they both stretched out their muscles. "Yes, primarily. We have other forms for offense."

At that Keith did blink. "You know offensive martial arts as well?"

Once more her lips curved up into a slightly mocking smile. "Yes, Commander, I know offensive martial arts as well. Did you think I would only learn defense?"

"Care to demonstrate them?"

Allura turned and looked at him, wondering if she heard correctly what he was asking of her. "Forgive me, Commander, but are you asking to...fight with me?"

"Spar, actually." Keith replied with a raised eyebrow, "what else would I mean. Do you not spar?"

"Spar?" she asked, the word unfamiliar to her.

"A demonstration of skill between two people without the intent to kill." he clarified for her.

"Ah," she replied, understanding lighting her eyes, "yes I see now. As for your question...no I have not 'sparred' since I was fourteen."

"Why so long? Wasn't there anyone willing to train with you?"

Allura sighed and lifted her arm to air, arching her back as she did so. When she heard a faint _pop_ noise, she released the poise. "You must understand that in my culture, women are rarely taught the military arts. We can know tactics and treaties and sit on council but the physical application of it is...frowned upon."

"Yet you were taught."

Allura gave a nod of her head. "Yes and only by Coran out of necessity. He...convinced the other males that they were to _never_ engage me in physical combat."

Something drifted into her eyes, a presence of shadows that shaded her eyes from azure to midnight blue in a matter of seconds. The change in her eyes fascinated him like nothing else could.

The words she spoke next explained the shifting color.

"Coran was my partner to test my skill upon...but age and the damage done to his body over the long years of war had finally taken their toll on him. When I finally reached the age of fourteen his body had become stiff and could no longer bend and move the way it needed to. So he retried from physical combat...and that was the end of my sparring sessions."

"So spar with me now and show me your skill, Princess."

Allura gave him a hard look when used her renounced title, and he simply gave her look that could only be called male arrogance.

"Very well, Commander, I will."

Both of them moved to the center and took their stance across from each other. Allura moved her body so that it was at an angle, her arms pulled up and across her chest, palms open.

She watched, with mild puzzlement, as Keith mirrored her stance...yet his arms were pulled closer to his body, his hands closed into fists.

She assumed it was one of the Earthian styles of combat.

"Ready?" he asked and she nodded her head...yet neither moved.

"Ladies first, _Princess._ " he told her, that slightly mocking edge in his voice combined with her title let her know he was baiting her.

 _Two can play this game Keith,_ she thought with sharp amusement.

"Age before beauty, _Commander."_ she replied with venomous sweetness using an old Earth adage that had Keith giving her a vulpine smile.

A shiver of awareness wound its way through her body at that aggressive smile and she waited with a heightened sense of anticipation...

And suddenly he was _moving._ Allura gasped at his speed and just barely crossed her arms across her chest, catching and blocking the fist he sent her way.

She released her crossed arms, pushing at him as she did so, and abruptly dropped to one knee and shoved, hands closed, into his solar plexus.

The move caught Keith by surprise and she managed to send him backwards a few inches.

"Why type of style was that?" Keith asked, curiosity and interest ablaze in his eyes as they circled each other.

Allura gave him her own, arrogant smile. "Defeat me, Commander, and I'll tell you."

There was no open smile on his face this time yet she sensed a shift in him as the words left her mouth.

"A challenge then? I accept."

His voice was like a purr, shimmering in the air between them like some forbidden secret...or promise.

Throat dry, her heart suddenly beating twice as fast, Allura continued circling him...waiting...

His attack came without warning, the speed he showed her earlier was nothing to compared to what he showed her now.

Allura lifted her forearm, barely managing to block the punch to her face and abruptly she dropped and spun on one foot, just as his leg swept over her head.

She danced out of the way, a feral grin on her face. She hadn't been pushed like this in _years._

The punch of adrenaline hit her system fast and hard, giving her a false high for a few seconds.

Those seconds allowed her to keep up with his speed, but it allowed her no room for attack.

She hadn't imagined, not even when she first saw him take out those two Drule soldiers, that he was this good.

"Impressive moves, Princess."

Allura sucked in a breath...but did not respond. She was too busy concentrating and found herself slightly annoyed that he was barely winded and still managed to speak.

 _Time to show him what I can really do._

Once more they circled each other, blocking and feinting, until Allura pulled a move and vaulted over his head, turned and leap into the air, her right leg extended into a flying kick.

Keith didn't hesitate, but simply reacted the way he was trained to. He reached, grabbed her foot and swung her around, sending her back flying into the air...and then he remembered who he was sparring with.

"Allura!" He cried out, already moving to catch her...

….when he saw, impossibly, that she had twisted her body in mid-air and dropped to the ground, her feet splayed out behind her, one arm arced behind her the other bent straight in front of her.

It was a stance that strongly reminded Keith of the Shaolin discipline used by Chinese monks.

Allura came to her feet, seemingly unharmed and raised a slender, golden eyebrow at him.

"Is there a problem, _Commander_?" Her voice was honeyed innocence itself, "I thought perhaps I heard you yell something."

 _Brazen minx,_ Keith thought with a mix of rueful amusement and sheer, male annoyance by being duped by a slip of a girl.

She had thrown the challenge of her words at his feet and by the gods he wasn't about lose to her.

"I thought we were sparring, not talking." He reminded her, once more getting his stance. "Unless you want to concede to superior strength right now?"

Allura narrowed those wondrous eyes of hers at him. "You sound so certain you will defeat me."

Keith raised his own, winged black eyebrow at her. "I'm not the one who went flying through the air."

His voice was pure, male taunting.

She was already coming at him by the time the last syllable left his lips and he was waiting for her.

Once more they danced with feints and blocks, but by then Keith had gotten a strong sense of the rhythm of her martial arts and was ready to end this match.

She shot an open palm hit towards his chin, which would have incapacitated him had it connected...but Keith was already moving and caught her wrist, twisting it so that she had to turn her back to him.

Allura dropped to one knee, hoping to use her free arm to elbow him in the ribs...but he had anticipated that move and twisted her arm behind her back, catching her other elbow behind the bend in her arm, immobilizing both arms at once.

To put the finishing touches on the end match, Keith moved one leg between her upraised one and bent one and locked the ankle of her bent knee and his leg together.

He now had her utterly surrounded and if she wanted to get free, she was going to have to dislocate a shoulder to do so.

"You are bested," he told her in that soft, purring voice of his, "Yield to me, Allura."

She tried, for a few seconds, to break his hold and quickly learned what he already knew.

Allura blew out a frustrated breath, then sighed and allowed her lips to lift in an acknowledging smile. "The match is yours, Commander."

But still he did not release her, but kept his body tight up against her own.

She frowned at that. She did not believe Keith to be a person who would gloat over a victory.

"Commander," she repeated, a touch of asperity in her voice, "you won the match, release me now."

She turned her head, the only part of her body she could move with out difficulty, to glare at him...when that anger evaporated like mist in the morning sun.

His eyes were black flames, looking at her with such intensity that Allura was surprised she hadn't burst into flame right there and then.

"I...why haven't you let me go?" Her words were a soft whisper and she could not break away from his avid gaze.

"Because you haven't said the right words." His words sounded utterly reasonable but his eyes said something else entirely.

Her eyes furrowed together in confusion...until she recalled the words he had said to her when he trapped her.

 _You are bested...Yield to me, Allura._

Her eyes widened as she realized what he wanted her to say. "I...I yield to you...Keith."

A flare in his eyes and abruptly they were both back on their feet, her head slightly reeling from the sudden change of position.

"There," replied Keith, a slight lift of his lips as he walked away from her to take a drink from his canteen, "was that so hard?"

 _Arrogant male,_ Allura thought with a flash of annoyance, knowing full well he could have released her at anytime.

Watching him take a drink of water, the metal container glistening with condensation suddenly brought home just how thirsty _she_ was.

Allura turned back to the crate to grab her own drink, and groaned.

She had forgotten to bring something to drink, she had been in that much of a hurry to get back to him.

"What is it?"

Allura looked back to Keith and gave him a self-depreciating look. "I forgot to bring my water."

He gave her a steady look, then held out his own canteen to her.

"Use this, I have plenty left and you need to hydrate."

Allura was already crossing the room and taking the container out of his fingers and lifting to her lips when the oddest thought crossed her mind.

 _His lips were touching this before mine._

In her culture to share a drink was akin to sharing a kiss. She hesitated for a flash of a second, before her thirst and practical nature took over and she took slow sips of the water.

 _What Keith doesn't know won't hurt him._

It brought a slight smile to her lips as she finished her sip and handed it back to him so he could have some more.

"Thank you," she told him as she put a hand to right shoulder, rotating the joint as she massaged the tissue.

"Did I hurt you?"

Allura could not keep the flash of surprise out of her eyes at the concern in his voice. "No," she replied honestly, "It's just that I haven't used my muscles like this in a while. I'm a bit sore."

Allura's legs felt like jelly and she knew if she didn't sit down soon and rest, she was going to fall over. Once more her practical nature exerted itself and she simply chose the wall closest to her and sat down, letting the cold stone cool her heated flesh.

Much to her surprise, and delight, Keith came over and set only a few inches away from her, his canteen between them.

"You promised to tell me that style you used."

Allura flushed, for she had been studying the way his skin gleamed with perspiration. His hair, also soaked, was now plastered to his brow, making him look absurdly young.

"Yes, of course," she replied calmly, as though she had not been devouring him with her eyes, "the style is called _Sanui E'tavi,_ it means Silent Dance."

"Do all your styles have poetic names?" he asked, taking another sip of water. He nudged it close to her fingers with a pointed look.

Rolling her eyes at his silent command, she took a sip of water, considering his question.

"It would seem so," Allura replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "I truly never gave it much thought. I just wanted to get stronger, to survive."

"Could you teach me your style of fighting?"

Allura did not startle at the question for she remembered his interest in the Breath of Water style.

"I could teach you the basics," she said slowly, "but my own style? No, I'm afraid I can't."

"Some Arusian law stating that outsiders are not to be taught?"

His voice was light, meant to be teasing but Allura frowned at him nonetheless.

"You are _not_ an outsider, Keith Kogane. I am offended you would even say such a thing!"

The canteen stopped halfway to his mouth at the sheer outrage in her voice. He had never heard anyone so angry on his behalf...at least not since the death of parents.

"Alright, so not an outsider rule then," he replied, taking perverse delight in watching her eyes shift colors again. "So why can't you teach me?"

Allura glared at him for several seconds before closing her eyes, as though looking at him would make her that much more angry.

"Because the style I use was created solely for my purpose. I don't know if it can be adapted for anyone else."

Of all the things she could have told him, that one had never even crossed his mind.


	5. Chapter 5 part III

**Author's Note:** So is everyone enjoying the story so far? I know I am enjoying writing it! Many, many thanks to everyone who has stopped by to read it and especially to those who were kind enough to leave a review. You people make my day that much more special! Again all grammatical error are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever owned **Voltron.** I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Like it? Hate it? I want to know about it!

Chapter 5

Part III

"She was a silent fighter,

with a demon in her lung,

That stole her breaths right from her,

Before they'd hardly pass her tongue,

He was a silent fighter,

Who was always taught to share,

And held his breath when he was with her,

Just so she could have his air."

-E.H

"You're saying that Coran devised a completely different style just for you?"

Allura nodded her head and took another sip of water before answering. "In a manner of speaking, yes. You see the original Sanui E'tavi is based on the strength and speed that only men can produce."

She gave him a dry look. "I can keep up with the speed but obviously I have no way of producing the strength that is inherent to men."

"How much do you weigh?"

The words were out of him mouth before his brain could catch up and a memory, unbidden and unwanted, unfurled in his mind.

 _'You can't ask a woman that Keith!' Beverly told him, amusement and shock bringing out her European accent._

 _Keith gave her a blank look, obvious confusion on his face. 'Why not? It's a valid question.'_

 _Beverly rolled whiskey colored eyes at him. 'Because you can't, women don't_ ever _tell me how much they weigh! You're lucky she didn't slap you a good one.'_

 _Keith rolled his eyes at her. 'Women.'_

 _Beverly stuck her tongue out at him, 'Men.'_

"...around a hundred and twenty nine pounds, give or take."

Allura's answer snapped him out of the past and for a moment he could only stare at her.

She saw his stare and gave him a blank look. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he replied, _get a grip Kogane, Allura is_ not _Beverly,_ "I was just thinking that I outweigh you by a good fifty pounds. Yet you still managed to get in some good hits on me."

Allura's blue eyes, now shaded back to dark sapphire, seemed to look _into_ him, rather than at him.

It was distinctively unnerving to think that this woman, who was several years younger than himself, had the ability to see into his soul.

A thing of darkness and edges as sharp as broken glass.

"Well," she finally answered, turning those eyes away from him, "that _is_ the point of my style."

"Which is why it included a lot of elbow and knee shots, the hardest points on a human body."

"Exactly. But," and this time she turned her head back to him, "I don't think you really need our style of fighting."

"Oh?" Keith asked, pulling the lip of the canteen from his mouth, "why would you say that?"

"Because I have _never_ seen anyone move the way you do, or fight the way you do. You were trained in more than one style, correct?"

"How could you possibly..." Keith asked, for once caught off guard.

"I may not be a master of my own style, but I am skilled enough to recognize the differently styles of fighting, even if they are not of my own world. You used several different methods to counter mine."

Her eyes were kindled with curiosity, "You said your father taught you, correct?"

Keith gave her a nod of his head...and his stomach tightened into a hard knot at her next words.

"Would you tell me about your parents?"

Again a memory, unbidden, slammed into him.

 _'Keith, you never talk about your parents. Why won't you ever speak of them to me?' Beverly's voice full of curiosity...and the beginnings of anger. 'Am I not important to you?"_

 _'You are the most important person in my life,' he told her with frank honesty, 'but I don't speak about my parents, so don't ask again.'_

 _Beverley blew tendrils of curling brown hair away from whiskey eyes. 'Ok, fine,' she said with sigh and then laughed, 'I guess I should know by now not to butt heads with you.'_

Harsh words of rejections were already forming on his lips...and died in an instant as she spoke yet again.

"I...don't remember much of my parents," her voice was so soft, touched with an ache of bewildering loss that he understood all too well, "I was so young when they were killed...if it wasn't for the fact that Coran managed to find a picture of them...I think...I think I would forget them entirely."

Her eyes were closed as she spoke, somewhere lost in the past. "I _think_ my mother's favorite color was amethyst...but I don't know if it is a true memory...or if it's because she is wearing a purple dress in the picture."

"My mother's favorite color was green." Keith found himself saying, unable to stop the words from coming out, "She was an artist, used water colors in all of her paintings. I don't think I ever saw her paint without at least a touch of green in them."

Her eyes opened up and she turned to look at him with the most gentle smile he had ever seen on a woman's face. "It must have been wonderful, to have a mother growing up."

Simple words and so full of haunting loss that Keith's fist tightened with the anger, hearing the echo's of a six year old child who had lost _everything_.

"My mother was always laughing," he told her, trying to erase the shadows lingering behind her smile, "and constantly scolding my father and I about staying out too late for training."

Some of the darkness receded from her eyes and genuine curiosity took over. "You said your father taught you, what did he do?"

"Dad was a Japanese-American, serving in the U.S. Military. He was stationed in Hong Kong." He told her, a quirk coming to his lips. "Mom was Chinese."

"Was that...bad?"

Keith shook his head, smiling even as the memories dug knives into his soul. "No but it made their courtship...interesting. We moved away when I was three back to the states. Dad resigned his commission and opened up a dojo. Mom sold her paintings and worked as a curator for a museum. Dad began teaching me Kung Fu when I was six. I became addicted almost immediately and begged my father to teach me everyday."

"Is that when you're mom began complaining?"

A nod of his head. "Nearly right away, but she was always laughing when she did. Kept telling me I was turning into my father right before her eyes."

"What did she look like, your mother?"

Keith expected the twist of the knife in soul whenever he was asked to remember his mother...yet her voice, somehow, soothed the rough edges around the memory as he spoke.

"Mom was...tiny. Just barely topped five feet. Dad used to call her his little 'porcelain doll' because her skin was so pale and when she let her hair down, it fell nearly to her knee's."

"Do you look like her?"

But again Keith was shaking his head. "Not really. The shape of my eyes are similar to hers, but mom used to insist I was my father in miniature."

"Then he must have been a very handsome man, if you look like him."

Keith snapped his eyes open, thinking that she was teasing him...but there was no teasing light in her eyes.

Just that soft smile upon her lips, her eyes closed as she listened to him talk about his past.

"Tell me about your parents, Allura. What do you remember about them?"

She did not open up her eyes, but sighed and pulled her legs up to her chest,, resting her arms upon them.

"You mean besides the manner of their deaths? Because I remember that all to well."

"Do you have nothing good to remember? No family events?"

"I..." she began frowning, but something stirred at her words, "I remember a ball we once gave. Foreign dignitaries gathering at the palace. Father was there, dressed formally. I remember he already had silver hair. Men of the royal line have always gone silver at a young age, it was said to be a sign of great wisdom. Mother was there...dressed in amethyst, I think...but I...don't remember. I was too busy meeting Lotor for the first time, I mistook him for a fairy."

Keith choked on the water he had been drinking and Allura popped her eyes open, seeing his incredulous look.

" _Lotor,"_ His voice sounded like he looked, all sharp edges and shadows, "you mistook Lotor for a _fairy?_ "

Allura gave him a hard look...yet he saw the tinge of pink along her cheekbones. "I was _very_ young," she said in a huff, "he was the first Drule I had ever laid eyes upon. He had pointed ears and yellow eyes, he looked like a fairy out of one my story books."

"So what was a young, Arusian princess doing meeting with a prince of Drule?"

"Royal duty. When foreign dignitaries visited the palace with their children, it was my job to entertain them."

"And Lotor was one of them?" His voice was completely skeptical, as though he was having a hard time believe Lotor could have ever been a child.

Before she could answer, a loud growling noise filled the air.

Both Keith and Allura looked at each other with surprise.

"Was that my stomach, or yours?" Allura asked, a sparkle of amusement in her eyes.

"Both, I think." Keith replied with a sigh. "Guess we should get out of here and find some food."

"Oh by the golden gods!" Allura smacked a palm to her forehead, "I really am an idiot today."

Getting her feet, her legs feeling like lead, Allura went and picked up the brown wrapped package she had brought with her. "Here, eat this. It's the first of the harvest."

"What is it?" Keith asked, watching her with a bemused look on his face.

"Fruitcake."

"No offense, but I think I'll pass."

Allura gave him a confused look. "It's not poison Keith, I promise. Why won't you try some?"

"Earth has a fruitcake as well," he replied watching her open up the wrapping, "I could make a home out of the bricks..." he trailed off as she unwrapped the brown paper.

It was round object that had a faint peach sheen to it. It also had the most tantalizing smell coming off of it. She handed him the palm size bun.

"Here, try a bite. It's really good."

Considering that it looked nothing like the fruitcake he was used to, he decided to go ahead and try.

 _Can't be worse than military rations._

It tasted just like an earth pastry. The dough was soft and sweet, the middle filled with a dark red jelly tasting like fruit...but unlike any fruit he knew of. It was sweet but just a touch of tartness that didn't make it too sweet.

He devoured his in three bites, licking the crumbs from his fingers.

"See, didn't I say this was good?"

Keith looked at her as she finished off her own bun and saw that there was only one bun left.

She saw where his eyes had strayed and shook her head, laughing.

"Here," she said and broke the bun in half, "we can share the last one."

Keith didn't bother to try and offer her last one, but was already reaching for the half she offered up.

Their fingers brushed against each other...and Allura pulled back as though she had been burned.

He found himself regretting the fact that he didn't have an excuse to reach out and touch her again.

 _Eyes forward, Kogane. She isn't for you, remember?_

The words he had told her those months ago had seemed right at the time. He didn't want to hurt her, didn't want to give her false hope where there was none to be had.

His heart had long since turned to stone, feelings of love and tenderness long since buried underneath the years of rage and heartbreaking sorrow.

He swore, after losing Beverly, he would never allow himself to love again.

So then why did he find himself looking at her hair, strands of sunlight, and wishing he rip out that ponytail and thrust his hands through the silky mass.

Why did her eyes, endless sea of blue, haunt his every waking thought? Ever since that night he tasted her mouth, thoughts of her had consumed him.

It was one of the reasons he kept going out of his way to avoid spending as little alone time with her as he could.

His self-discipline was legendary.

Except for when he was around her and forgot the meaning of the word.

"Allura," he said, strapping some steel to his spine, "we should..."

Once more words died on his lips as he stared at the woman who looked as though she had stepped out of a fairy tale.

She had fallen asleep next to him as he struggled to keep his desires hidden from her. Her head was turned facing him, her knee's no longer bent but slid off to the side, her arms wrapped around her body.

Even in sleep she tried to hide the scars from prying eyes.

 _She doesn't want anyone's pity._

How he knew that, he couldn't say, but something in his bones told him this was the reason she wore the clothes that covered the whole of her body.

Her lips were slightly parted, her breathing even. He moved to shake her shoulder, to wake her...when he stopped.

This close to her and he was just now seeing the pale shades of purple under her eyes, a sign that she wasn't getting enough sleep.

 _Nightmares, princess?_ He wondered, as his eyes lingered on those parted lips, _so why didn't you come to me to chase them away again._

He shouldn't be thinking such things. But then, reason and emotion rarely played well together.

Getting to his feet, Keith bent down and very gently, pulled the sleeping Allura into his arms.

Her head nestled into his shoulder without waking, a soft sigh leaving her lips. The weight of her hair, the cool feel of silk against his bare skin, was the sweetest of torments.

 _She's exhausted,_ he realized as he left the room, his arms cradling her warm, willing body.

The fact she hadn't stirred in the least bit when he picked up her up alerted him to this fact. He had watched Allura over the past several months and while he had seen the depth of her caring, her compassion and loyalty to her people, he noted one very interesting fact.

Allura did not like to be touched.

Except for the casual handshakes, or a pat on the shoulder by Coran, Allura avoided human contact.

It was, he realized in his observation, part of her defense she wore about her like a second skin.

He wondered if she even realized she was doing it.

 _Probably not,_ he thought as he made his way through the broken palace. _She's been on her own for so long, it's probably second nature to her now._

He also wondered, not for the first time since laying eyes upon her, if she had ever allowed anyone to take some of the burden from her shoulders.

 _Considering the way she pushes herself, I doubt it._

His arms tightened around her and he decided, at that moment, _he_ was going to take care her.

Changing direction, he had been making his way towards her bedroom, he moved on swift feet to a different corridor.

It was, with some minor relief, the he ran into no one else. He had no desire to explain why Allura was asleep in his arms and he was obviously headed towards his sleeping quarters. The door slid open on its own, as Pidge had managed to reroute power to parts of the castle, so certain functions worked again.

His room was sparse, just a bed with sheets and a pillow and a battered dresser with a few articles of clothing in it.

Nothing else. No books, or pictures or anything else to suggest that a living person occupied the room.

His bed was made in the military style, two pillow on each side with all four corners tucked into the sides. Not a single wrinkle was seen, it was that smooth.

His military side appreciated the orderliness of it, but the practical side of his nature realized that tucking the sleeping woman in his arms underneath the covers was well nigh impossible.

With a silent sigh, Keith gently settled Allura onto of the sheet, the gold of hair flaring slightly as he laid her head on the pillow.

The sight of her, curled up in his bed, was like a fist in the stomach.

It wasn't that the sight of her disgusted him, quite the opposite. Seeing her there, so vulnerable, made him want to never let her out of his sight again.

 _I need to get a handle on this,_ he thought, thrusting a hand through his sweat, dampened hair.

Even Beverly, whom he had loved, had never affected him on this level.

That, more than anything else, scared him.

But that didn't stop him from reaching down to brush a strand of hair away from her eyes...or run a fingertip, feather light, from her temple following the soft curve of her jawline.

Her skin was exquisitely soft, without blemish or artifice and it made him catch his breath just to trace a finger over it.

She sighed and turned her head, angling it in his direction, as though her unconscious mind could feel his touch and craved more of it.

Swearing silently in head, Keith snatched his hand back and watched her for a few minutes longer.

He decided, when she awoke, she would be hungry.

 _Food,_ he decided, _and then a shower._

Her lashes fluttered as she dreamed, and her limbs uncurled as she went deeper into sleep.

The top she wore, the one that he had eyed with male appreciation as it displayed her curves, rode up slightly. A flash of pale, creamy skin that was her abdomen.

His gut tightened with a visceral response to the exposed flesh, beads of sweat now dotting his forehead.

 _Shower first,_ reversing his earlier decision, _then food._ A long, very _cold_ shower.

Perhaps in the underground somewhere, they had a hidden glacier he could submerge himself into. That might curb his desire for the woman now sleeping in his bed.

He was already halfway to the door, and uttering every foul name he knew at himself, turned his head to look at her one more time.

The long, lithe lines of her body called to him like a siren's song.

 _Shower,_ he repeated firmly. _Cold enough to cause frostbite._

Somehow he doubted even that would temper the fire now raging though his blood.


	6. Chapter 6 part IV

**Author's Note:** Update! Not as quick as my other ones, but I hope worth the wait! This is also the end of the four part chapter I have been working on, so don't be too upset with me if my next chapter skips ahead.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned **Voltron.** I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Love it? Hate it? Tell me all about it! I love **ALL** my reviews.

Chapter 6

part IV

"She was a silent fighter,

with a demon in her lung,

That stole her breaths right from her,

Before they'd hardly pass her tongue,

He was a silent fighter,

Who was always taught to share,

And held his breath when he was with her,

Just so she could have his air."

-E.H

 _She was standing in a wind-swept meadow, nothing but a sea of flowers for miles around. The sun was a fiery ball in the sky, yet it was a gentle heat. The wind that danced through the meadow made the flowers sway to its silent song._

 _Off in the distance was a structure that gleamed white, like polished moonstone, and she thought perhaps it was a temple. There was such a sense of serenity, of calm coming from the structure that Allura wanted to do nothing else except gather flowers and go to the temple and sing and dance._

 _But as soon as she thought that, she knew something was wrong._

 _All the temples had been destroyed in the war and the flowers that grew on the meadow were either out of season...or no longer existed._

 _"I'm dreaming."_

 _Her voice startled her for she was aware she was dreaming._

 _"You are...and you're not."_

 _Utter shock had Allura rooted, unable to move. The voice was undeniably feminine...and with such aching familiarity Allura knew it at once. Though it had been thirteen years since she last heard her speak._

 _What she had told Kieth had been wrong._

 _She turned to see a woman dressed in a flowing gown, done in the ancient Arusian style. The shoulders and neck were bare, the sheer, violet sleeves of the gown detached and held up by silver cuffs on the upper arm. The gown wrapped itself around her body, layers and layers of diaphanous silk, in colors of lavender and deep orchid, until only the hints of her body could be seen beneath it._

 _Around her neck were delicate, silver necklaces that trailed amethyst and diamond tear drops. Her moon pale hair had been loosened so that it fell in rippling waves to the small of her back. Upon her head she wore the Star of Arus. It was the silver crown with three points, the tallest marked like a star, that was worn by the Queen of Arus._

 _Eyes that were near identical to hers stared at her with such loving compassion that it broke her trance._

 _"Mother!"_

 _Allura was already in her mother's arms, weeping as the Queen held her in her tender embrace._

 _"Allura," she said softly, stroking her golden hair, "I have waited so long to speak to you. My most beloved daughter, I am so_ very _proud of you."_

 _"Mother," Allura wept, "I have missed you."_

 _"I as well."_

 _The Queen pulled back so that she could tip her daughter's face to look at her. "Allura, you have grown as I knew you would into a strong, beautiful and compassionate leader."_

 _But Allura shook her head. "I have failed you," she told her mother, "our world crumbled when you and father were...killed. I'm sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't save you and father! I never wanted you to die!"_

 _"Hush," replied her mother kissing her brow, "that was not your fault. You were but a child, there was nothing to be done."_

 _"But I lived!" she could not stop the despair that threaded through each word, "you died and I lived!"_

 _"And I am so grateful for that."_

 _The Queen's words, so strong and full of happiness, stopped short the despair that was consuming her from the inside out._

 _"Mother..."_

 _Once more the Queen gathered her into her arms, "Do you think any parent would wish their child to die so that they could live? Oh, my darling, had that happened I would never have survived past that day."_

 _The two embraced and then Allura felt her mother pull back and she was no longer her mother but the Queen of Arus._

 _"Listen to me, Allura. You have done well,_ very _well. You have gathered the five lions together and Voltron lives again. But Arus still lies in the path of danger."_

 _Her mother's voice was no longer maternal and loving, but full of solemn warning._

 _"Zarkon hasn't forgotten us, he's biding his time to for another attack, isn't he?"_

 _"Yes...but it will not come in the form you believe it will."_

 _Allura gazed at her mother with concerned eyes. "What are you saying, Mother?"_

 _But the Queen shook her head. "I am bound by rules," she told her, "and I cannot go against them. But because of your power...I can do at least this much."_

 _Allura looked at her with confusion. "Power? But I have no power."_

 _The Queen shook head and touched her cheek. "You do. Remember you are the direct descendant of Altarus. Never forget that and you will come to understand."_

 _Suddenly she gave Allura a knowing smile, and she was once again her mother and not the Queen._

 _"So it would seem you found the man of your dreams after all."_

 _Allura did not need to ask about that cryptic comment to know whom she was speaking about._

 _"Keith."_

 _A single name spoken, but said with a sigh. A caress of longing._

 _"A very formidable, and honorable, male. You have chosen well."_

 _"I," Allura began, then stopped and gazed at her mother with sorrowful eyes, "he doesn't feel the same way."_

 _A secret smile upon her face. "Oh, I would not say that."_

 _Allura gave her mother a sharp look. "What do you know mother?"_

 _A soft, lilting laughter, "Look to his actions, not his words. You will find the truth there."_

 _"Mother!" Allura began hotly...and stopped as the form of her mother began to disappear. "Mother...your form!"_

 _"I cannot linger, my time here is done."_

 _"But I don't want you to leave!" it was the wail of an abandoned child, "please! I don't want to be alone."_

 _Ghosted fingers on her face, soft lips upon her forehead._

 _"But you are not alone."_

 _"Mother!"_

Allura's eyes opened immediately as soon as her mother disappeared from the dream.

"Mother." she whispered, incredible love and the ache of loss in that single word. She had been given such a precious gift, the remembrance of her mother.

Feeling better than she had in weeks, Allura sat up...only to realize that the bed she slept in was not her own.

Nor did she recognize the room, except to know that she was still in the castle.

Rubbing the sleep from her eye, she slowly sat up and looked around. Nothing but the bed she slept on and a chest of drawers with a brown basket with a covering on it.

Then she saw a familiar head of black hair near the end of the head. Frowning slightly Allura moved on hands and knee's across the bed and saw that it was indeed Keith.

Who was fast asleep, his body resting against the mattress. His arms were folded underneath his chest, his legs crossed at the ankles.

His head was bowed down, the feather of his bands obscuring his eyes. But his breathing was even and he had not stirred when she moved softly against the bed.

"Commander?" she inquired softly.

No response.

Biting her lip, Allura reached out and touched fingers to his hair. The strands were slightly damp and cool, with an odd texture that was not unpleasant. It was like rough silk against her touch.

The sensation of running her fingers through his hair was an aching pleasure, so sharp as to be nearly painful.

 _I'll stop in a minute,_ she told herself, even as her fingers continued to stroke the cool, raven strands.

She had never seen him like, so unguarded and...peaceful. She knew she should pull her fingers away, get off the bed and leave him to his nap.

She needed to check the time, make sure she hadn't slept past the meeting and go over the various reports.

But she stayed perfectly still, flat on her stomach continuing to stroke his hair, a soft sigh of contentment leaving her lips.

 _I could do this for hours,_ she thought and felt unusually reluctant to take up her duties she knew were waiting for her on the other side of that door.

Her fingers were still gliding gently through his hair when she pulled in a sharp breath, his fingers suddenly snapped around her wrist.

"Keith...I..." she began her mind scrambling for an excuse when they came to a screeching halt when he turned his head and placed a kiss in the palm of her hand.

The feel of his mouth on her skin erased all cognitive thoughts in her head. Instead she felt her eyes flutter close and her breath turn shallow as his mouth glided lower, before nipping gently at her wrist.

"You should know better than to tease me," he murmured in a sleepy, sensual voice that made her throat go dry and her heart stutter, "Beverly."

That slow burn of desire that had been unfurling inside of her abruptly withered and Allura snatched her hand out of her grip.

 _Who is Beverly?_

His eyes opened immediately and he tilted his head back, a slight, wicked smile on his face...until he saw the wide, sapphire gaze of Allura staring back at him in shock.

"I...ah...I..." she stammered, still holding onto her hand, "I'm sorry!"

She was already scrambling off of the bed and managed to get three steps towards the door, where she halted mid-step.

Keith's fingers had once more wrapped around her wrist.

"Allura."

It was only her name, just that. But it squeezed her heart to hear her name upon his lips.

She turned her head away from his, glad now that she still wore her ponytail so it could act as a shield around her face.

"I'm sorry Commander," she said in a painful voice, "I didn't mean to wake you. I shouldn't have touched you the way I did."

"Why did you?"

There was no accusation in his voice. In fact there was nothing in his voice, it was that flat.

Allura stood there, but did not speak. She was too busy having an internal war with herself at that moment.

 _Tell him!_

 _No! If I tell him, I'll look like an idiot. He spoke another woman's name!_

 _So ask him about the woman! If he is with another, then you have a right to know!_

 _I...what if he rejects me?_

 _Then make a choice! Do you run and forget everything you feel about him...or do you stay and face what you feel?_

That was her choice, to run from this and pretend everything over the past several months never happened.

Or answer a question and find out whether or not this man cared for her beyond friendship.

"Will you not answer me?"

Allura swallowed hard...and wondered if she was about to have her soul ripped out of her.

"If...if I answer your question, will you answer one of mine?"

His fingers tightened on her wrist, almost to the point of pain.

"Ask your question and I will decide if I want the answer to yours."

 _Well that doesn't help,_ Allura thought with a touch of anger...but realized he hadn't told her she couldn't ask.

She had faced death and torture, surely she could ask a simple question.

She could not stop the trembling of her body and she took in a shaky breath and turned to look at Keith.

"Who is Beverly?"

She watched the shock deepen his eyes to drowning pools of darkness and cried out when his hand nearly cut off the circulation to her wrist.

"Keith! You're hurting me!" Her words were more of shocked surprise than pain, but the sharpness of her words were enough that he dropped her wrist immediately.

"Allura, I'm sorry...I would never hurt you." He told her, stepping back away from her, a glazed look in his eyes.

"Keith...I know," she said even as she rubbed the abused flesh, "and you...you don't have to answer my question." She closed her eyes and turned away from him.

 _I hurt him with that question. Forgive me Keith, I never meant to cause you pain._

"Beverly was my fiancee."

Allura stopped and turned back yet again to face him. His voice could have been carved of stone, for all the emotion it held.

"Was? Is she...not anymore?"

Keith gave a harsh laugh, devoid of all laughter.

"No, she is not. She died. Two years ago."

Allura refused to close her eyes against the rage in his words, the pain in his eyes that seemed almost unimaginable.

 _He answered my question...so now it is time I answered his._

It didn't matter that she had a thousand questions she wanted to ask him about this woman who brought out such strong emotions in this closed off male.

That wasn't important right now.

"I touched you," she told him, moving slowly closer, "because I have always longed to know how your hair would feel against my fingers. I touched you because when I touch you, I don't feel so alone."

A shuttered look in his eyes and she held his gaze for several seconds...but even her courage had limits and she had reached hers. She turned from his eyes and wrapped her arms around her body.

"I am sorry I brought such painful memories back to you." she whispered softly, "You looked so...peaceful, I wanted it to last, if only for a few minutes longer. I'll leave now."

 _Fiancee...he was engaged to be married. He was never meant to be mine._

"Don't leave."

Allura's stomach clenched in response to the ache in his voice, a sorrow that pierced her to the core.

He was such a strong male, so reserved in thought and feeling she wondered what it cost him to say those words out loud to her.

"Allura," a break in his voice, "please."

She turned back to look at him, her eyes dark with the knowledge of how painful living when others died, could be.

He dropped to his knee's, undone by that simple understanding.

She went to him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, his silent tears soaking into her shirt.

"Oh, Keith," she murmured softly, stroking his thick hair, "I'm here. I'm here."

She continued to hold him, stroking his hair. She doubted that he heard her words...so she began to sing, softly.

The words were in ancient Arusian, it was a song of grief and loss, but also one of healing and acceptance.

His arms tightened about her body as she continued to sing her haunting melody, stroking his hair as she did, and eventually she felt his tears abate.

 _How long,_ she thought as her song came to end, _has this been festering inside of you? Were you never allowed to weep...or could you not against the pain and rage?_

As the last note trembled in the air, Keith lifted his head to look at her. There were unvoiced questions in his eyes.

"It's alright," she told him, speaking the pain deep inside of him, "I know."

And because she knew, it was no longer a silent burden festering inside of him.

He had, finally, found a measure of peace that had been lost to him.

It hadn't been on Earth, but on Arus, waiting for him in the arms of this woman.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** Oh my gosh I have been gone _forever!_ I am soooo sorry for the delayed update! I hope this will make up for it! Again this story is rated **T** but I strongly recommend that you be at least **16** to read this. All grammatical errors are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Love it? Hate it? I want to know!

Chapter 7

"Do you think the Universe fights for

souls to be together?

Some things are too strange and

strong to be coincidences."

Unknown

"I knew I would find you here."

Keith did not turn around but kept his eyes fixated on the sky above him. He did not need to look behind him to identify the speaker.

Only one woman on Arus had that beguiling mixture of sunlight and shadows in her voice.

The wind shifted just slightly and a scent of elusive flowers and crushed crystals drenched in sunshine entwined about him like a lover's caress, he clenched his fist against the sudden need to turn and pull her to him.

Or run like the very devil was on his heels.

"Where else would I be?" he inquired, keeping his voice modulated to a neutral tone, despite the chaos inside of him caused by her presence, "This is my night on rotation."

"Won't you turn and look at me Keith?"

Keith gave a silent sigh, knowing that he couldn't avoid this confrontation any longer. He turned to face to woman behind him and once more felt the punch to his senses by her proximity.

He had not seen her all day, in fact he had made sure that he was never in the same room with her unless it was absolutely necessary, and like the other times, desire licked like a flame against his skin as his eyes settled upon her.

Today she looked... _like the princess she claims she is not,_ he thought as he could not stop himself from devouring her with his eyes.

Her hair, that liquid sunlight that she always tried to tame back, was left loose and tumbled down her back in soft, rippling waves. The mild wind danced upon the strands and the only thing that kept it partially at bay was the small head-piece she always wore. Today it was gold with a small, tourmaline jewel at the center.

Her clothing, as was her way, covered her from head to toe...yet there was something softer about it, more feminine. She wore a one-piece catsuit, the color of deep turquoise that covered her from neck to ankle, yet over that she wore a soft golden overdress that had a deep v-neckline and short transparent sleeves that cuffed just above the elbow.

The bodice was fitted like the one-piece, showing off the fullness of her breasts, the gentle curve of her waist, before the skirt split down the middle to fall behind her like a golden waterfall.

The contrasting colors only strengthened the impression that she was some fey creature that existed only in the pages of fairy stories.

 _To beautiful to be real, to exquisite to be denied._ He thought as he kept his fist clenched tightly so that he wouldn't do something as foolish as to reach out and capture a lock of her shimmering hair.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice harsh, like cut glass. It was not quite a growl...but it wasn't exactly welcoming either.

Allura seemed unaffected by his tone or unaware of the havoc she was playing with his mind.

"To speak with you." she told him a touch of impatience that he had come to know all too well. "You've been avoiding me."

Since that was well and true, he said nothing but crossed him arms and decided to wait her out.

When those obsidian eyes of his reflected nothing back but the starlight above them, Allura blew out a frustrated breath.

"Keith...did I do something to make you mad at me?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "Because if I did, I would like to know what it was."

Keith blinked at that, it was not the question he had been anticipating.

"Of course not," he replied back automatically, "why would you think that?"

Allura narrowed her sapphire gaze at him in suspicion. "Oh I don't know...perhaps its because you haven't talked to me or even _looked_ at me in nearly a week. In fact, Lance and even Sven went out of their way to point out that you won't even stay in the same room I enter."

She took a step closer to him and lifted her chin. "So, I ask you again, why are you mad at me? What did I do to deserve this silent treatment?"

Keith ran a hand through his hair, disheveling even further. "You didn't do anything," he told her with harsh finality, "now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to patrol."

He turned his back to her and that only incited her anger.

 _Oh no you don't!_ She thought with disbelieving anger, _I am_ not _going to let you walk away from this._

"Commander Kogane," she told him in a voice coated in ice, "you will _not_ turn your back to me."

Keith turned back, a look of incredulity on his face. "Are you giving me an order, _princess?"_

Once more her hands were on her hips, her chin raised, eyes glittering like the stars wheeling in the night sky. "Yes I am. Now tell me, damn it, why are you doing this to me! I don't understand."

Those last words were said in quiet desperation and she instantly regretted the softening in her voice.

How was she to find out what was wrong with him when she sounded like a pathetic little girl?

He was on her just as the last word left her lips, his hands slamming down on the wall behind her, trapping her body between him and the castle.

"You want to know _why_?" he said softly, his eyes unblinking as they stared into her widened ones, her mouth open slightly in shock at his sudden display of temper.

Before she could speak to answer him, his mouth was on hers. It was not like their first kiss, all sweet seduction and gentle exploration.

No this was a demand, pure and simple. Voracious and all consuming, his mouth did not spark her desire, it ignited into an inferno.

Her arms were already around his neck, his hand buried in her hair, anchoring her neck into place so that she could not escape. His other arm was still kept her caged between his body and the steel wall behind her.

It lasted only seconds. It lasted an eternity.

When he finally lifted his mouth from hers, his eyes were no longer cold, but dancing black flames.

Her mouth was swollen, her face flushed as her eyes held a dazed, glassy look to them. " _This_ is why I leave the room," he told her harshly, keeping his hand at the back of her nape so she could not look away from him, "because _every single time_ I look at you, I want to do this to you."

"I...I..."

"Don't you get it Allura? I am the _commander_ of the Voltron Force. What type of functioning commander can I be to you when all I want do is strip you naked. How the hell can I treat you like a member of the team when I all I see is the woman?"

His words were harsh, but there was no mistaking the stark desire in his voice.

"I...Keith...I didn't know..."

 _She's only nineteen,_ Keith reminded himself harshly as the obvious shocked confusion in her eyes, _she might have lived through hell and seen more than her fair share of violence and death but she still a_ young _woman._

She was not a child, he knew, but she was definitely _not_ a woman who was experienced in sexual matters.

"I know," he told her, once more struggling to remind himself of _why_ he had been keeping his distance from her and just giving into the obvious attraction between them and laying claim to her, once and for all.

Discipline and duty won over his very real need to claim her, and with a wrenching motion, he released her body and took several steps back away from her.

Though his eyes still glittered dangerously in the starlight, his face had once more become a stoic mask of professionalism.

"I suggest, Allura, that you refrain from seeking me out for personal reasons."

Allura struggled to get her thoughts back into a sense of coherence.

On the one hand, he had more than proven he still felt something for her, but on the other hand he had made it _quite_ clear that unless she pushed his back up to the wall, he had no intention of acting upon those feelings.

"I..."she began but immediately halted the words that threatened to flow from her lips, _what...I'm sorry you desire me? I'm sorry I cracked the ice around your heart and now you want to go back to pretending that day in your room never happened?_

She wanted to say those things, the need inside of her so powerful that she had to bite down upon her tongue, tasting blood, in her effort to push them back.

She sensed, even without the imprint of his mouth still lingering upon hers, that now was not the time.

She had pushed him as far as he was willing to be pushed tonight. She could see it in the shadowed depths of his eyes.

"...apologize for interrupting your patrols Keith. Thank you for your effort on behalf of my people."

He shot her a narrowed look, his mind teasing out the words looking for the sarcasm beneath it. There was no way his fair-haired princess was letting go that easily.

Except there was nothing in her words but aloof gratitude for his work.

No sarcasm, no flair of the heat that prowled in her soul. She sounded very much like the royalty she had been born to.

Keith gave a slight nod of his head in acknowledgment of her words.

Deep sapphire met black obsidian, the silence between them a tangible thing filling the space with all the words still left unsaid...and all the emotions neither one was willing to give voice...or action to, just yet.

With reluctance on her part, Allura pulled her eyes away first and with careful steps, as though she were stepping on glass instead of smooth metal, she turned her back to him and made her way back to her room.

A room filled with a hundred memories, a thousand shadows. It had become a much lonelier place after having felt the warmth of sleeping in Keith's bed.

She had found, with a quiet realization, that she preferred the warmth of his narrow bed. She could still recall his lingering scent, lighting and metal and a touch of exotic spice as she had laid upon his sheets.

Her bed, despite the decayed opulence, held no more warmth for her. Just a big, empty space that seemed to grow with each passing day.

A single, solitary tear slipped down her face. It scalded like a trace of fire against her cool skin. This conversation had not gone the way she had planned. Instead of clearing the air between them, it seemed she had only made matters worse.


	8. Chapter 8 part II

**Author's Note:** Two updates in one day, man I really am making up for lost time! Just for reference this is the time-skip I was talking about in previous chapters. This chapter takes place, roughly, around issue 4 in the second arc of DDP. I have taken literary license as this is a fan fiction, so it will not follow exactly. As always, all grammatical errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Like it? Hate it? I REALLY want to know. No reviews, no more chapters. Just saying...*grins*

Chapter 8

"All that

we see

or seem

is but

a dream

within

a dream."

Edgar Allen Poe

Allura was deep in thought as she walked alone in the empty shelter that her team had taken refuge in, she was reminding herself that she and Keith had not had their 'talk' like she had promised him.

 _Somehow he always seems to slip through my fingers,_ she reflected sadly as the rest of the team settled into their shifts of sleep. She too, should be sleeping, but her mind was running in a thousand directions and sleep became an elusive creature too wary to catch.

She knew from years of experience that it was useless to try and force sleep on herself, so she did what she was naturally inclined to do when she was alone.

She let her feet wander the physical path, even as her mind took further paths inward.

It had been four months since she had tried to confront Keith on his aloof attitude toward her and though things were not as strained as before...there was still much between them that had yet to be settled.

 _Why am I doing this to myself?_ She wondered as her feet turned down yet another deserted corridor, _we've only just escaped that inferior knock-off Voltron and we are not out of the woods just yet. So why can't I stop thinking about him?_

Perhaps it was those quiet words he had spoken to her alone, in the cockpit...hesitant, yet so intensely focused she could not help but be stunned by them.

 _Arus is my home...my..._ allegiance _...is to_ you _._

There was something the way he had said 'allegiance' that made her think, at that time, that there was something... _Oh, I don't know,_ she thought frustratingly, _something_ more _behind the word._

Her mind replayed that conversation again and again until she practically dreamed of it. She felt then, as she did now, that they had been on the brink of something...until the damn sensor alarm had gone off and Keith broke the moment and turned away from her before she could put to words the emotions she felt.

Allura stopped at one of the many balconies overlooking the empty storage building. The lighting was minimal and when she peered over the edge, somehow it seem as though she were actually looking into an abyss.

"Careful, we don't know how steady this place is."

Allura let out a soft exclamation of surprise, nearly toppling over the railing as a strong arm quickly slid around her wait, steadying her back on her feet.

"Allura," Keith said in a mixture of exasperation and annoyed amusement, "I told you to be careful."

Allura turned her head over her shoulder to glare at the commander. "I was fine until you sneaked up on me!" she replied in a heated whisper.

Even in the semi-darkness she could see his frown. "I wasn't 'sneaking up' on you. I'm on patrol. You, however, should be asleep."

Allura rolled her eyes at him and turned her head away from his. Every time they were alone together things got...complicated.

"I'm a grown woman Keith," she said softly well aware that his arm was still wrapped around her waist, "not a child. I don't need to be coddled or when to be told to go to bed. I think I know my body better than anyone else."

"Allura..."

She heard the sigh in his voice and she wondered, with a trace of bitterness, why it seemed they were always at war with one another...except for when they merged consciousness to pilot Voltron.

 _No,_ that tiny voice deep within her mind spoke up, _you didn't argue in the cockpit. In fact he told you something_ very _interesting, didn't he?_

 _Shut up,_ she told that tiny voice, _it didn't mean anything like that._

But oh, she wished that it had.

"Allura?"

"Sorry," Allura replied as she realized she had been standing in his arms for several seconds without speaking...or moving, "I...ah...was thinking. About things. Please proceed with your patrol, Keith."

But he didn't move away...or remove that deliciously warm arm from her waist.

"What has you too awake to sleep?"

His voice was soft, a soothing caress against her battered mind. It felt so good to feel his warmth against her back that Allura closed her eyes for a moment and allowed herself tentatively to lean against him.

He reacted by planting his feet and shifted his balance to take all of her weight against his stronger frame. His arm tightened around her waist, the other hand anchored on the railing.

Surprised, pleasantly so by his reaction, she momentarily dropped her guard and spoke her thoughts out loud.

"Everything," she whispered softly. "Everything that we've seen...we've done. Voltron used to be one-of-a-kind and now the miracle of our planet was manufactured in a lab..."

There was bitterness in her words, the kind that spoke of a betrayal that dug furrows in one's soul.

"We'll fix this," he told her, the steel and confidence in his voice leaving no doubts in her mind that he would do just that, "I promise you Allura. Galaxy Garrison will answer for what they have done."

"But _why_ Keith," Allura asked, frustration coating her voice, " _why_ was this done in the first place? There has to be a reason for it."

Keith had been asking himself the same questions ever since Hawkins arrived on Arus all those months ago.

Somehow, he knew, it had something to do with Zarkon.

With Lotor.

"I wish I had an answer for you," he told her, shifting her slightly so that her head rested in the crook of his shoulder, "but I don't. Not yet."

"Yet?"

"We'll get the answers, one way or another."

"Another promise Keith?"

"Have I been known to break a promise yet?"

"Mmm, I suppose not."

This felt good, standing here with him, talking rather than arguing with him. No demands, no intrusions.

Allura wished she could capture this moment and hold onto it for an eternity.

"I...ah...should head back out on patrol. Lance will be coming on shift soon."

 _Reality intrudes once again._

"Yes," she said softly, "I suppose you should...but Keith, you really don't sound like you mean it."

A soft breath of laughter at her ear. "You don't make it easy on a man to leave you Allura."

Allura's eyes popped open at his teasing voice and she turned her head to see his eyes, those drowning pools of darkness, looking down at her with such a mixture of wary tenderness that it only seemed natural to reach up and tug his head down to hers.

He did not resist the tug of her hand, nor when she lifted up slightly up on her toes to press a kiss to his mouth.

His fingers flexed against her waist as he opened up his mouth under her quiet, but insistent, exploration.

Her tongue slipped into his mouth and suddenly Keith was _very_ glad he had a firm grip on the railing.

She threatened to take the strength right out from under him with that small gesture.

He angled his head, deepening the kiss, groaning softly into her mouth as she sighed with unabashed pleasure into his.

Much to his surprise, and yes damn it, annoyance, she pulled away first.

"Wait..."

But already she was ducking out from under his arm, a slender arch of an eyebrow at him. There was a definite spark in her periwinkle eyes as she gazed back at him. "You had better get back," she told him softly, "or the others will come looking, wondering why their stalwart, by-the-book commander has gone missing from patrol."

"Allura," his voice held a mix of frustration and pent-up longing but Allura was already shaking her head and backing away, her hair dancing behind her like a graceful shadow.

"Think of it as a memory...and a promise." she said, stopping him in his tracks.

"Promise?"

"Our talk." she told him, her voice soft and she saw the realization in his eyes. For once he did not turn away, did not try to change the subject, but met her gaze steadily.

Then he gave an aggrieved sigh and slid fingers through raven strands. "I'll be damned glad when this mission is done and we can go _home._ "

Her eyes widened and she understood the message behind his words.

 _'When we get home,' she had told him, 'We are going to have a talk...and this time I won't let you run from it.'_

It seemed that he had finally decided he was tired of running from her...from them.

"Yes," she said softly, "I too will be glad to return home."

Before she could lose her resolve and go back into the temptation of his arms, Allura gave a nod of her head and moved off into another direction.

"Don't stray far, Allura."

Allura stopped and turned, thinking to remind him that she was still an adult...when the look in his eyes told her that he wasn't thinking of her like a child.

He was trying to protect her.

For her, it was a revelation. She had, for the longest part of her memory, been the one to do the protecting, not being the protected.

She wasn't quite sure how she felt about it...but considering it was Keith who was trying to look out for her...she decided she didn't mind that much after all.

 _Besides isn't that what we've been doing all this time, looking out for each other?_

Her smile, when it appeared, held all the traces of wistful tenderness in it. "I won't."

She turned to go around another corner...but not before she glanced back over her shoulder to see him watching her retreating form.

 _Perhaps,_ she thought with a burst of fragile hope, _this might work out after all._

Allura had managed to find yet another deserted area and was still thinking about Keith, and the kiss she had stolen from him, and once more found her mind unable to rest.

"Hey there you are!"

Allura turned, startled to see Lance coming towards her. She used her surprise to cover the stab of disappointment that it wasn't Keith coming to look for her.

Despite telling him to go back on patrol, a small part of her had hoped...wished...that perhaps he would have found an excuse to find her again.

 _If only to tell me to sleep,_ she thought with silent ruefulness and realized, with a startling blush, that if he had offered her the use of _his_ bed, she would have gone straight away.

 _Stop it!_ She told herself as she schooled her expression into one of patient amusement as Lance began talking to her, _now is not the time for that kind of thinking..._

"...still awake?"

Allura blinked and realized, belatedly, that Lance was asking her a nearly identical question to Keith's earlier inquiry.

It was not without irony that she answered near identical to what she told Keith...except only Lance did not have his arm about her waist...and despite the not-so-subtle hints he had been throwing her way, she had no inclination to try and steal a kiss from the roguish young male.

He made a comment that was half flirtation...and yet there was an undercurrent of seriousness to that alarmed her. She liked Lance, truly she did, but not in the romantic way.

"Lance..." she began, unable to keep the censure out of her tone.

But he forestalled her with such an earnest look that she had no choice but to hear him out...unless she do some irreparable damage to their friendship.

He was talking to her about some earth movie, regarding a scoundrel and a princess.

Allura knew very well he saw himself as the scoundrel and she, the princess.

 _He's trying to tell me he can make me happy,_ she thought with a sad kind of pity, _but he really doesn't know me. He just see's what he want's to see when he looks at me._

"Lance...I'm not sure..." she began, trying to find the words to let him know, gently, that while she appreciated the sentiment, she didn't share his feelings.

Unfortunately the opportunity was lost by a strange noise that had them both distracted.

 _Must be Pidge,_ Allura thought with silent, but heartfelt, relief. She knew the rotation of watch, just like Lance.

That relief quickly turned to horror and mounting fury as a very different male came into view.

"Oh no...!"

It was none other than the Crown Prince of Drule, Lotor.

Who was looking at her as though his birthday had come early and she was his newly delivered present.

"How perfect," he fairly purred at her, those yellow eyes gleaming like a cat in the dim light, "did you miss me Allura?"


	9. Chapter 9 part II

**Author's Notes:** Back again! Once more the following chapters have been split up into parts, as noted by the quote. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! Many, many thanks for my lovely reviews! As previously noted, all grammatical errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Like it? Hate it? I want to know about it!

Chapter 9

part II

"All that

we see

or seem

is but

a dream

within

a dream."

Edgar Allen Poe

Before Allura could react to the taunt in Lotor's voice, Lance was stepping in front of her, already challenging his words with foolish, and quite useless, posturing.

 _Male egos!_ Allura thought as she pushed her way past him. She heard what Lance was saying, trying to get Lotor to give him a rematch from that time in the castle.

 _He can't take Lotor on,_ she thought with rising alarm, _he barely survived his first confrontation with him! Lotor will kill him for certain!_

"Hush Lance." Allura told the cocky young male as she snapped a hand out in front of him to stop him from doing anything foolish...

...like say trying to take on Lotor _and_ the two other Drule guards he had brought with him.

"What are you doing here Lotor?" she demanded, her eyes flashing blue flames, her voice like steel coated in ice. Her lips lifted up into sneering disdain, not liking the way his eyes traveled over her body with such possessive heat. She remembered the last time she had seen him...

… _after that disturbing, and oddly intimate, conversation with Keith she had retreated to her bedroom. There she had lit a candle, as she did every evening, as homage to the death of her parents. Nightfall had always been hard for her, for sleep was never restful but filled with nightmares and memories._

 _She had stared into the dancing flame, reflecting in the silence...when another voice shattered her peace._

 _"Princess Allura, daughter of King Alfor the Generous, you are even more beautiful now than when you were as a child."_

 _Allura, startled by that dark, purring voice, she had whirled around to see Lotor cloaked in the far shadow of her bedroom...right behind her bedroom door._

 _She gaped at him for she had not seen him since they were children._

 _He had been sent away from Korrinoth upon the annexation of her home world. She learned, much later, that Lotor had been aware of the plan to decimate her people._

 _She had hated him ever since learning that he had tricked her into befriending him, just to fool her parents into trusting his father._

 _He was much changed since she had last seen him. His eyes were still the same, cat-like yellow, his hair a long fall of white that was startling against the deep blue of his skin. But his body had matured, and he towered over her by a good foot. His face, which had been exotic and almost pretty like a girl's to her child eyes, was now honed to a cruel, gleaming beauty that was in no way feminine._

 _"Lotor...what are you_ doing _here?" she could not keep the shock out of her voice._

 _"I recently returned from my sojourn," he told her moving with that cat-like grace that had fascinated her as a child, "and learned of the trouble here on Arus. Naturally I came as quickly as I could." He was several inches from her now and now had a gloved finger to the candle...and just like that, snuffed out the flame._

 _That candle, her ritual to her parents memory, incited her anger to a white hot rage._

 _"So you start your visit in my_ bedroom _?" She could not keep the sarcasm, or the outrage from her voice. "This is neither the time or the place for a reunion!" In fact she wanted nothing more than to gut him where he stood, looking down at her with such blatant arrogance._

 _"Leave! Now!" she demanded when he made no move to leave her room, or her planet._

 _Abruptly, before she could even let out a gasp much less move, his hand was wrapped around both of her wrists, tugging her to him as his other hand fisted in her golden hair._

 _"We were children when my father took your world and sent me away," he told her with ruthless clarity as she struggled in his arms, " and by rights the spoils of war are mine for the taking!"_

 _She had no idea what 'spoils' he was talking about...for all of five seconds until she realized he was pulling her closer so that their bodies were nearly touching...his hand in her hair was angling her head upward as his mouth began to descend upon hers..._

Allura snapped out of the memory with a shudder and couldn't help but see the same gleam of lust in his eyes that had not changed from their prior meeting.

"What?" she snapped, unable to stop from baring her teeth at him in a snarl of defiance, "come to try and spirit me away like last time?"

She felt Lance startle next to her and forgot that he hadn't seen Lotor trying to force a kiss upon her unwilling mouth. But she had neither the time, nor the inclination, to clarify her words.

"You over-estimate yourself Princess," Lotor told her with a sneer to match her own, though the lust never left his eyes. "I'm here to clean up your 'little mess'."

There was such smug confidence in his voice that it actually made her hesitate for a moment. Hadn't she spoken to Keith only a few hours ago about her frustration as to why all of this was happening.

"Mess?" she said, feeling her words with cautions, wondering if her answers were not standing only a few feet from her. "What 'mess' are you referring to?"

Lotor extended her a hand, as though he expected her to come to him of her own free will.

"You stole Drule property, Allura," he said her name like a tangible caress on her skin and she gritted her teeth, wishing he would stop using her name so intimately, and then her brain caught up with his words.

"Stole? Are you mad, Lotor?" she glared at his hand and made a silent promise to herself that if he so much as touched her, she would slice of his hand with the dagger she had hidden under her gauntlet, "I haven't stolen _anything._ "

He gave a low chuckle, as though amused with her words. "How woefully naive you still are. You and your little _playmates,_ " he spat out the word as if they were beneath him, "took the Lions that were to be delivered to the Supremacy."

Allura's eyes widened as she realized the impact of his words. _Voltron,_ she thought with a dazed kind of horror, _Galaxy Garrison...they sold Arus out to the Drule._

Lotor noted the sudden glimmer in her exquisite eyes and saw her make the connection. She had always been piercingly intelligent, even as a child, and she did not disappoint him now.

"Since I have so _generously_ come here to personally clean up your mess, I expect a little compensation on your part."

"Allura," Lance hissed at her but once more she made a slashing gesture with her hand and shot him a glare that clearly said _shut up Lance_ , and turned her head once more to Lotor.

"Compensation? Just what is it your 'expecting' from me?"

 _Please, please don't let it be what I think it is._ Not that she was going to him a _damn_ thing...but she figured if she stalled long enough, someone would coming looking for her and Lance.

"Take my hand Allura and return to Korrinoth...there you will pledge yourself to me."

 _Like hell I will!_

"Heads up blue-boy!"

Three head snapped in the direction of the insolent voice and Allura watched with wide-eyed shock as Keith came barreling through the air, riding on a wooden shipping container connected to a metal hook and chain, that immediately slammed into Lotor shattering the container and sending them both plummeting over the edge.

"KEITH!"

Allura screamed his name, racing to the edge, but the momentum that had sent both Keith and Lotor over had also destroyed the safety rail and Lance managed to get hold of his wits long enough to grab Allura by the wrist.

"Allura, no! It's not safe!"

She turned to him, her eyes so wide they seemed to take up all of her face. "Lance...we have to _do_ something! That was Keith!"

Lance tugged firmly on her wrist. "Exactly! That was Keith and knowing our fearless leader he has a plan, so leave him to the plan and lets get the hell out of here!"

"Not so fast human," one of the Drule guards growled out. "See, our orders were to take you, unharmed, as hostages." Something cold and vaguely reptilian moved in his eyes as they took on a hectic gleam, "but now _that_ happened," he jerked a thumb to where Keith and Lotor had gone, "all bets are off and I personally..."

That was as far as he got for suddenly Hunk was behind them and Pidge had slipped in unnoticed as well.

"Thought there was a lot of noise coming from this direction. Seems it was a good idea to check it out after all."

Allura was never more grateful to see both of them than at that moment. Both Drule guards startled as they turned to see Hunk towering over them. Deciding that Hunk did not need assistance dealing with them, she once more turned her frantic attention back to the ruined mess that had been the deck.

Pidge gave a low whistle as he saw the twisted metal and shattered remains of the shipping container.

"Wow! What happened here?"

"Keith! He...he managed to surprise Lotor and they both went over the edge." Allura replied, trying to slow her racing heart, struggling to remember that _no one_ on the team knew of her hidden feelings for the dark eyed commander.

 _I'm just a teammate,_ she told herself sternly, _I can't appear to be worried more than the rest of them._

"Huh, so he took on Lotor?" Pidge said, trying to peer over the edge. "Well that will buy us some time to get back to the Lions."

Allura stared at him and he gave her a funny kind of look. "Keith is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, so out of all of us, he should be able to handle the Drule prince, right? At least long enough to give him some back up."

Her eyes widened and if she could have smacked herself for having to have Pidge, of all people, reminder her just how dangerous Keith could be when provoked.

"Yes, of course," she replied suddenly feeling a lot calmer, if not still out of her mind with worry for the male who held a very large part of her heart in his hands.

 _Keith, hold on!_ She swore in her mind as they raced down the hall after Hunk had beaten a few bruises into the guards and send them scrambling away in retreat, _We're on our way!_

Keith and Lotor were in free fall in a matter of seconds and Keith reflected, as he was falling, that maybe this hadn't been one of his better ideas.

Considering that he had no idea if there was anything down below them but empty space.

However it seemed Luck favored the reckless as a grid of metal bars suddenly rushed up to meet his form and both he and Lotor managed to catch a different level of bar before serious damage could be done.

"Well, that was incredibly rude," Lotor snarled from below him, "I wasn't finished talking..."

His voice was drowned out by another and both men snapped their heads up at the feminine scream.

"KEITH!"

Keith let go of his grip to land on the large metal beam that Lotor had perched on, finding that it was wide enough to stand on, so long as one had incredible balance.

Lotor's eyes gleamed at him with unconcealed malevolence as he heard Allura screaming for the male before him.

"So...your _Commander_ Kogane," the contempt in his voice said plainly that he was not impressed, "I've read up on you 'Keith' and your pathetic world's attempt at the martial arts."

Keith rolled his eyes and shifted his balance. "Do you _ever_ stop talking?"

He had seen bullies before, knew the way they flapped their mouths, tried to intimidate others into fearing them and that's all he saw in Lotor.

A bully and a tyrant...who had looked upon Allura with eyes that had sent a haze of red rage to settle over his vision.

"Ask your friend Lance," Lotor growled softly at him, before moving with a speed that would have surprised Keith...had he also not done his 'homework' on Drule martial arts.

Keith was waiting for him and quickly jumped to grab the beam above him to flip over it and slam into Lotor with a flying kick before dropping and kneeing the yellow-eyed prince in the solar plexus.

Unfortunately the momentum and weight behind the move shattered the connecting metal pipes and once more they were both in free fall.

"Of all...uhh...the stupid..." Lotor shouted out as he landed once more on another section of piping.

Keith let out a small yell as the ground went out from beneath him unexpectedly and once more found himself facing the opposite side of Lotor.

The way the prince moved made Keith decided that, despite being a pampered royal, he did have some serious skill.

"So," Keith said once more getting to his feet, "you fancy yourself a practitioner of the martial arts?" He kept his tone deliberately insolent and contemptuous, something he knew Lotor would not be able to ignore.

Keith wasn't one for talking during a fight, but it kept his opponent off guard and allowed him to study his methods.

Lotor took the bait and Keith listened with half an ear as he sputtered some nonsense about the Drule supremacy and being royal, but he wasn't interested in his words. He was interested in studying his body language.

"Oh blah, blah blah." Keith interrupted Lotor with a roll of his eyes as he decided he had studied enough of his opponent to accurately gauge his skill.

Lotor let out a growl that was more animal than human and suddenly they were both done talking with their mouths.

Keith blocked the fist that came swinging from the side and returned with a left hook of his own...but the Drule prince was _fast_ , ducking under his swing to come up behind him and elbowed him in the back of the neck momentarily giving him a sense of vertigo that took out his balance.

Lotor was on him, an arm wrapped around his neck to chock him... _and Keith remembered his match with Allura when he had tried to get her in the same position...she had surprised him by dropping to one knee..._ and Keith mirrored her movement and dropped to one knee, slamming his elbow into Lotor's suddenly vulnerable solar plexus.

Lotor wheezed out a breath but retaliated by slamming a fist into Keith's unprotected face and then, while he was still one one leg, sweeping it out from under him.

 _I knew it,_ Lotor thought as he came after him with a snarl full of murderous rage, _he is_ not _my equal, just an upstart who should_ never _have been allowed to be near my princess._

When he saw Keith getting back on his feet, he could not stop the smug, insulting words from leaving his mouth. Already he saw himself laying Keith's dead body at Allura's feet and then _no one_ would stop him from claiming what was rightfully his.

"Why get up at all? Just save yourself some embarrassment..." Lotor began as he swung his fist to Keith's unprotected spine to land the killing blow...

…when abruptly Keith turned, grabbed his wrist and locked his arm around the bones that connected his arm and shoulder together and swung him around.

 _CRACK!_

Lotor felt the race of fire up his arm, the blaze of pain as Keith dislocated his shoulder by slamming his face into the ground, keeping his arm vertical as he did so.

Keith was already dancing out of the way as Lotor got on his feet, his face distorted by pain and rage.

"I'll have your head on a _pike_ and leave your body for carrion! Allura will _never_ call out your name again!"

The words were nearly unintelligible, such was his fury at the human male before him.

On the contrast Keith's face has become a blank slate, his obsidian eyes reflecting nothing but shadows and darkness.

He said nothing but gave a quick flick of hand, motioning for Lotor to come at him. With another growl of rage Lotor came at him, but his swing was too wide and Keith stepped into his guard, blocking his fist with an ease of movement. His eyes hardened like black diamonds and he slammed his knee once more into Lotor's rib cage, hearing the satisfying snap of bones under the weight before using his elbow to slam into Lotor's unprotected chin, sending the Drule sprawling on his back, a trickle of blood flowing from a split bottom lip.

"I guess this means one thing, _prince,"_ Keith told the semi-unconscious male, his voice liked an unsheathed blade, "my Kung Fu is stronger."

Keith felt the sweat trickle down his spine, felt his limbs shake and knew that he was pushing his limits.

Muscles tightened and small spasms warned of the injuries he was continuing to ignore. Even with additional protection from his flight suit, some of Lotor's blows had manged to do damage to his body.

Much to his growing anger, Lotor was once again getting to his feet.

 _Like a goddamn cockroach,_ Keith thought, knowing that several of his blows would have incapacitated any _normal_ being, if not permanently crippled them.

 _Damn Drule biology,_ Keith knew from study that though the Drule had similar body structure to humans, there were infinitesimal differences between their species.

Such as Drule had a higher capacity for pain tolerance and physiology gave them a strength, and speed, nearly five times faster than that of an average adult human.

He was wondering if he would have to break Lotor's legs before the damn prince got the message to leave them, _and Allura,_ the hell alone.

"Keith can you hear me?" Pidge's voice was suddenly filling the air, loud and clear as though standing right next to them. "Those Drule Lotor brought with him fled when Hunk beat on them, but we still can't find you or Lotor! Please respond!"

 _Well how about that, looks like a little bit of luck has finally found us._

"Keith!"

Both men started when it was Allura who was now filling the air with her voice, "Are you alright?" Her voice was a mixture of breathless fury underlined by the unapologetic worry in her voice, "Where are you? We have a lock on your coordinates but we can't reach you...please, answer me!"

Lotor wanted nothing more than to rip the spine out of the leader of the Voltron Force upon hearing Allura's inquiry.

 _So Keith,_ Lotor thought with furious clarity, _it seems you stole more than one item that rightfully belongs to the empire...to_ me!

However now was not the time to address that particular issue, for Lotor knew that the tides had turned and now _he_ was the one who was suddenly outnumbered.

 _Useless fools,_ Lotor thought as he pulled a hidden device from one the pouches at his waist, _I will deal with their desertion later._

"Well, _Keith,_ it seems I must fall back on a Drule adage after all." The sneering superiority in his voice instantly pulled Keith's attention away from Allura's voice and he saw, with widened eyes, as Lotor pressed the button and without warning a number of explosions went off...

Keith, who took his eyes off Lotor for a single second to locate the explosions, used his distractions to escape out of a door that had been revealed when they had fallen to the lower levels.


	10. Chapter 10 part III

**Author's Note:** Up to 10 chapters already! I can honestly say I didn't expect it to go this far...and I'm still NOT done telling their story. Many, many thanks to everyone who is reading this story and leaving such lovely words of review.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Like it? Hate it? Let me know!

Chapter 10

part III

"All that

we see

or seem

is but

a dream

within

a dream."

Edgar Allen Poe

"Keith? Can I come in?"

Allura knocked on the steel door that denoted his sleeping quarters. As of right now they were on the Galaxy Garrison transport ship _Explorer_ headed for Earth.

Along with the Lions of Voltron and the clones they had made of them, newly christened _V-15._ Neither she, nor the rest of the members of the Voltron Force or V-15, were in any condition to pilot.

Not after their last run in with Lotor and his horrible Robeasts.

After Lotor had released several Robeasts on the unsuspecting Voltron Force, he had only retreated because of the sudden arrival of V-15 and Commander Hawkins. With their help, and the combined efforts of Voltron, the Robeasts were defeated and Allura, at her insistence, requested she be allowed to speak before council that made up Galaxy Garrison.

Hence the trip to Earth.

Allura was still contemplating their latest victory over the Drule Supremacy that she nearly fell into Keith when the panel to his door finally slid open.

"Allura? Is something wrong?"

"Keith!" she gasped, her voice sounding like an unstrung harp, when she finally got a good look at his face. The right side of face was showing the purplish-black bruises courtesy of Lotor's fists. Along his eyebrow was a thin cut that slid down the out edges of his eye that she knew had to have been from the spikes from the gauntlet that he had been wearing.

Without thinking she reached up to place the delicate pads of her fingertips against one of the startling bruises that was blooming along his cheekbone like an evil flower.

"These should have been treated by now. They look terribly painful."

His hand was already closing over her fingers, but he did not pull them away from his face. Instead he used it as an excuse to tug her into his quarters and out of the hallway away from prying eyes and ears.

The door panel had already slid shut behind her before she had even time to register his actions.

Once inside he dropped her hand away from his face and went to sit down on the bed that didn't even look as though it had been slept in. The sheets were still firmly tucked back, the twin pillows plump and side by side.

"So what did you need to see me about?" he asked her with a weary-sort of voice.

"I..." she began but hearing his voice, and the unmistakable signs of pain that bracketed his mouth and eyes, she faltered.

Until, that is, she saw him give a slight wince as he shifted on his bed. "Came to check on you."

Keith raised his uninjured eyebrow at her words. "I'm fine."

Allura rolled her eyes at his words and stalked over to his side. "You, Keith Kogane, are most certainly _not_ fine. Since you have obviously not had your wounds treated, I'll have to do it for you."

"Allura I don't..." Keith began, a soft warning in his voice for her to halt, but abruptly stopped when she simply dropped to her knee's at his feet and tugged one of the gloves off of his hands.

"Oh Keith," she exclaimed softly as she saw the blood crusted on the knuckles of his hand. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Imploring eyes of impossible blue looked up at him under a fringe of golden eyelashes and he found himself helpless to resist her tender ministrations.

"We were rather busy at the time." he said wryly, only a hint of curve to his lips. "Besides, no matter what I may be feeling, I'm damn sure Lotor is feeling a hell of a lot worse."

"Is he now?" she murmured softly as she tugged off the other glove. She gave a small snarl of anger at seeing his other hand.

It was nothing but blood and torn skin that passed for a hand.

"Not nearly enough," she said heatedly, her eyes flashing deadly rage at his wounds.

Keith, wisely, kept his mouth shut when those eyes once more looked up at him.

"Don't move," she told him as she rose swiftly to her feet, "I'll be right back."

Now that she towered over him, for once, she gave him her fiercest glare. "I mean it Keith, _not a muscle._ "

"Yes ma'am."

Allura pursed her lips but gave a sharp nod and was out of his room with quick, decisive steps.

Keith made to raise a hand to hair, then winced as his torn hand throbbed. He had not even the chance to wonder how long she intended to be gone for when his door chimed and she was back in his room, her arms full white cloth and a strange looking bottle.

"I assume you have a small bowl in your bathroom like the rest of us?"

At his nod, Allura placed her items on his bed and disappeared into his bathroom. He heard the soft sounds of movement, quickly followed by the sound of running water.

He had literally just gotten to his feet, when she came back out and gave him a look, nothing else.

The look in her eyes was enough that Keith abruptly sat back down on the bed, once more wincing as he did so.

With a long-suffering sigh, Allura went back to him, the bowl in her hands now curling with steam.

Setting it gently down on the padded floor she once again was kneeling at his legs.

Picking up one of her bundles of cloth she dipped it into the steaming water and without even asking, Keith held out his injured hand to her.

"I'm sorry," she said softly as he sucked in a sharp breath as the hot water hit the torn and tender skin. "I added the cleanser to the water to help with the healing."

"It's fine," he said through gritted teeth as she gently dabbed at the crusted blood on his knuckles.

She seemed completely unperturbed by the sight of blood and Keith knew it shouldn't surprise him, but it did.

 _Perhaps,_ he thought as he gazed down at her, _it's because she looks like she belongs in a garden surrounded by flowers...or a forest complete with mythical faeries._

This thought led to another and he figured, since she was already there with him, he might as well ask her the question that had been on his mind.

"Allura."

"Hmm?" she answered absently as she quickly dipped the cloth back in the water and onto his hand, her focus on his injuries.

"What did Lance mean when you asked Lotor if he was there to take you away...again."

The cloth halted on his hand, the heat not quite painful, as she gazed up at him her eyes wide once more.

"Lance," she muttered as she once more focused on his hand, "needs to know when to mind his own business."

"Allura."

She sighed again as she pulled the wet cloth from his hand and began to dry it with another. She pulled the stopper off the strange bottle with the blue liquid and Keith swore, loudly, when the liquid hit the open wounds and began to make faint, sizzling noises.

"Shit! Sorry I asked."

"...Lotor was in my bedroom, the day we first fought the Robeast."

Her eyes would not lift from his hand as she waited for the blue liquid to seep into his hand.

Keith frowned and looked down...and saw, to his amazement, that his skin was no longer torn and bloody. It held, instead, the pink sheen of newly healed skin.

He also, realized, that there was no longer the steady throb of pain.

"How in the world..." he began, then stopped when he realized Allura had managed to distract him from her answer to his question.

"The more generic term is liquid skin," Allura replied to his inquiry, "it can heal minor injuries...and not so minor," she added under her breath, "within a matter of seconds. But I still need to wrap your hands because though the skin has healed, it's still fragile. You'll need a few days, at least, before you can go back to your day-to-day activities."

"Lotor was in your bedroom that day? How...and why does Lance know this and I'm _just_ now learning about it?"

 _Persistent isn't he,_ Allura thought with amused exasperation...a just a slight hint of nervousness.

"I don't know the 'how' part," she replied as she began repeating the process to his other hand, now seated between his legs when she absentmindedly nudged them apart. "As to the 'why' for Lance..." at this she hesitated but not for very long.

"He...ah, walked into my bedroom without waiting for an answer to his knock and Lotor threw him across the room."

"So that explains the bruises from that day..." Keith muttered but he could tell, from her shifting eyes and hesitant words, that she was still hiding something from him.

"That still doesn't explain your comment about him taking you away...or the look in his eyes."

He had timed his question well, waiting until Allura had poured the 'liquid skin' on his injured hand, so that she was forced to look up at him.

Haunting sapphire eyes gazed back at him. Keith found himself holding his breath...and then a stillness fell over him that had nothing to do with pain and everything to do with the words leaving her lips.

"What Lance didn't see," she said softly not dropping his gaze, "was Lotor with one hand wrapped around both of my wrists and the other in my hair, trying to force a kiss on me...all the while explaining to me that the 'spoils of war' were his for the taking."

"Spoils of war..." Keith echoed with a deceptively mild voice, his eyes glittering like faceted diamonds in his handsome face.

"Yes...which confused me for a moment...until I realized, when he tried to kiss me, that what he actually meant was me."

"And the Drule are well known for keeping women as captive slaves."

Allura nodded her head and quickly dropped her gaze, her cheeks tinged pink as she began wrapping his other hand. "Yes...there is that."

"I should have killed him when I had my chance."

Soft words...yet the cold vehemence beneath them was unmistakable.

Allura snapped her head up, to see Keith looking at her with such protective ferocity, that she became acutely aware of surroundings.

Or more precisely, the fact that was settled quite snugly between his legs with scant inches from their bodies.

"Ah...umm..." Allura said, her throat suddenly dry, "I saw you wince...are you hurt elsewhere?"

"Yes." he replied, not taking his eyes off of her face. "Are you offering to help heal those wounds as well?"

Again his tone held that deceptive mildness...yet Allura sensed a hidden meaning behind them.

One that made her silently nod her head, unable to speak.

"You'll need to stand up."

Perplexed, Allura did as he bade and she quickly stepped back as Keith was suddenly standing in front of her.

"My uniform," he continued, motioning to the flight suit he still wore, "can you help me remove the top half?"

The top, of course, being help up by a zipper that his bandaged fingers could no longer grasp properly.

"Oh! Yes, of course."

Allura swallowed hard and glared at her trembling fingers as Keith lifted his chin slightly so she could get at the hidden zipper.

It easily peeled away, revealing the tight, black shirt he wore beneath it. When the zipper finally parted the material, Keith gave an easy shrug of his shoulders and the syncloth jacket slithered down his arms and pooled on the floor.

The dusky gold of his skin was an exotic contrast to the black of his clothing.

He went to pull the edge of the shirt with his bandages fingers but Allura was already there, stopping his hands.

"Keith, no! Your hands are still healing."

"Then you'll need to do it. I'm pretty sure Lotor managed to bruise a few of my ribs...though none of them broken, unlike his."

Not saying a word, her trembling fingers touched the edging of his shirt and she felt the muscles of his stomach tighten and contract at her touch.

Keeping her face averted, though she wondered if he simply couldn't _feel_ the heat of her blush, she quickly grasped the edges and pulled upward.

She gasped, not at the emerging bruises though those were worth a gasp or three, but because she was so _very_ close to all that deliciously, touchable skin.

It was taking everything in her _and_ the knowledge that he was hurt, not to 'accidentally' run a hand over the hard planes of his stomach.

"Y-you," she cleared her voice when it trembled, "ah...need to sit back down. You're too tall for me to remove your shirt without hurting you further."

Without a word, Keith stepped back, taking her with him as he sat back down on the bed and lifted his arms so that she could finally removed the shirt completely.

Keith, the man who haunted her every waking thought and more than a few of her dreams, was now naked from the waist up.

With her, alone in his room, and no one the wiser.

Looking up at her with those eyes of drowning darkness, completely unreadable.

It was at that precise moment, the clash of hypnotic blue against smoldering onyx, that Allura knew she was in way over her head with this male.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** Oh. My. Gods! I'm baaaaack! It's been _forever_ since I updated! Sorry! Sorry! Hopefully this makes up for the long wait! All grammatical errors are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Love it? Hate it? I want to know!

Chapter 11

part IV

"Those eyes of yours

Could swallow Stars,

Galaxies and Universes.

What hope did I

ever have?"

Anonymous

"What now?" he asked her softy, noting the slight widening of her eyes, the smallest catch of breath. He was afraid to move, least the most tenuous of movements send her fleeing from his temporary room.

 _Something_ flitted behind her eyes, a glimmer of light that was so fleeting for a moment Keith wondered if he had seen it at all. But the thought fled when he watched with growing fascination as her eyes darkened to indigo and all that nervous energy that had radiated off of her in waves, now dissipated.

"Now," she replied her voice a lilting caress upon his senses, "you let me work on you."

Keith blinked at that rather undiscerning reply and was about to demand an explanation when the words locked in his throat as she simply slid onto the bed and settled her weight behind his own.

"Allura what are you doing?"

There was a distinctive sound of a zipper being pulled and seconds later her now bare arm reached around and simply dropped the discarded flight jacket on the ground. The cloth was so light it barely made a sound. Next came the boots, also made of the same lightweight, yet durable cloth. Those too were quickly discarded onto the floor.

Keith swallowed hard as he caught a glimpse of all that creamy skin. Despite the pale scars that marked her arms, or perhaps because of them, he had to clench his bandaged fingers from reaching out to pull her into his arms.

"Well, I can't help you if my movements are restricted now can I?" came her tart reply before her voice softened slightly, "besides...you don't seem to mind my scars, so I have no need to hide them from you."

"I," began Keith and once again his words became stilted as he felt the delicate touch of her fingers upon his back. Her hands settled upon his shoulders...and Keith bit back a groan of bone deep pleasure as her fingers began kneading the knots in his muscles.

"Am I hurting you?" she asked softly as her fingers found a particularly stubborn knot, she dug her fingers in to loosen it.

"No," his voice reverberated with pleasure, "keep going."

A languid heat wound its way into her blood at the obvious pleasure in his voice and she felt a very feminine power fill her and it gave her a reckless kind of courage that she used without hesitation.

"Why don't you stretch out on the bed," her lips were near his ear, he felt the brush of soft fabric as the lush contours of her body pressed up intimately against his own naked skin, "you'll be more comfortable and I can massage the rest of your back."

Her words sounded husky even to her own ears and she felt a ripple of strength go through him, pressed up against him as she was.

The air seemed heavy, the silence so thick Allura thought for an instant he wouldn't acquiesce to her demands...but suddenly she was scooting out of the way as Keith moved across the length of the bed.

The long, lean lines of his body were suddenly open to her purview and Allura swallowed hard.

 _He is so beautiful,_ she thought with an aching need as she placed her hands once more upon the well defined muscles that spoke of the strength and discipline to his body. Her fingers tingled each time she stroked that muted, golden skin. Her own skin was a startling contrast next to his.

Moon pale to his sun kissed.

She frowned when her fingers reached the bruising around his ribs. They were ugly bruises, mottled yellow and green with a hint of deep purple at the center.

 _I know he said nothing was broken...but even these must be very painful..._ Allura bit her lip as her fingers stilled over the bruising.

"Keith?"

"Hmmm?" came the drowsy reply, so utterly relaxed that it made her lips curve up into an amused smile. Hard on that was such a feeling of tenderness for this male that the brief moment of hesitation she had experienced was utterly forgotten.

She would do _anything_ for him, she realized.

Even revealing something that was taboo among her people.

"You're going to feel a bit of warmth and maybe some pressure, but it shouldn't hurt."

"Hmm...what..." Keith began to ask as he struggled to the penetrate the haze of pleasure that had turned his muscles to so much jelly beneath her touch.

Allura ignored his words and placed the palms of her hands upon his bruised ribs. Closing her eyes, she concentrated and a faint, golden glow began emanating from her hands. Just like that, the bruising beneath her hands began to fade until nothing but unblemished skin remained.

Allura let out a squeak of surprise as Keith suddenly flipped onto his back, catching her at the wrists as her eyes popped open.

"What was _that_?"

Allura tried tugging at her wrist, but Keith's grip was solid, despite the bandages.

"Keith! Your hands!"

"They're fine...and so, apparently are my bruised ribs." He looked down at his stomach and automatically Allura followed his gaze...and once more found her breath caught in her lungs.

Heat seared her cheekbones but she could not pull her eyes away from his exposed skin. He was just so...gorgeous _, but that beauty is liked a hone blade._

"Allura."

She jerked her eyes away from the flat, defined planes of his stomach and onto his face.

His eyes were glittering once more, and with a deft tug of his hand, she was suddenly inches from his upper body.

"Answer my question. What did you do just a minute ago?"

"I...ah...I healed your bruises."

Keith could feel his eyebrows raising, a look of incredulous on his features. "How? I know for a fact you didn't use anything on my skin."

"Let go of my wrists and I will show you." Her words were calm...except the pupils of her eyes were dilated and Keith could feel her erratic pulse beneath his hands.

He released one wrist, but the kept the other firmly in his grasp.

Allura arched a golden eyebrow at him, but silence was his only answer.

She blew out a breath, knowing she had lost this particular battle of wills with him.

Holding up her free hand between them Allura closed her eyes and concentrated her energies once more to her hand. When she heard the soft intake of breath from Keith, she opened her eyes.

Once again her hand emanated a faint, golden sheen around her fingers.

Eyes locked on each other, Allura laid her glowing hand upon the ugly bruise on his cheekbone. Within moments the injury faded until nothing remained but smooth, unblemished skin once more.

"Like my ancestors," she said softly, "I too, hold a touch of magick. There was once, many years ago, great healers along the ancient line of Altarus."

She let the magick fade from her fingers. "My gift is not so great. I can heal only minor wounds."

"Why haven't I seen this before..." he trailed off as he looked at her, comprehension on his eyes. "Sven. That time when he collapsed...and seemed to recover without explanation."

Her eyes flicked and he knew he had guessed correctly.

"It is taboo to reveal out gifts to those not connected to the royal house of Arus," she told him and once more her voice softened to that lilting caress, "but I...I couldn't stand seeing you hurt..."

The words died upon her lips, the sentence unfinished as Keith brought her captive hand to his mouth and pressed an intimate kiss into the palm.

She let out a soft gasp as his cool lips met her heated flesh. Rocked by the sensuality of the gesture, Allura closed her, awash with the desire his touch kindled.

A soft nip at her wrist had her eyes flying open, a look of surprise on her face. The nip at her wrist hadn't hurt...but it did turn the blood in her veins molten and she found herself wishing he would do it again.

The moment he nipped at her soft skin, he opened his eyes and caught the look of flared arousal in her darkening eyes.

A smug, male smile flitted over his face at the look on her face.

 _Mine,_ he thought even as he continued to play with her hand, alternating kissing the skin and nipping gently at her fingers, until her breath was ragged and she was now so close that it took no effort at all to slide his arm around her waist, pulling her so close that she was now pressed up to his naked chest.

Pupils dilated until all he could see was and endless field of blue, Keith wrenched hard at the need to lay his mouth on the curve of her neck, to once more taste the addictive flavor of her skin.

The thin, ice pink tank top she wore beneath the flight suit did nothing to hide the curves of her body from his sweeping gaze. Slim shoulders, winged collarbones that begged to be caressed and breasts now plumped upward from being pressed up against his harder frame, threatened to snap his already tenuous control.

Allura licked her lips underneath his avid gaze and his control fragmented, like so much broken glass.

His fingers were already buried in her hair, his other hand already cupping her jaw so that she could not escape the hot press of his mouth on hers.

He half expected her to fight him, such was the fierce desire of his kiss...but she surprised him by opening up her mouth with a breathy sigh of surrender.

Keith groaned at her submission and deepened the kiss until her arms slid up his chest to wind themselves around his neck, pushing herself impossibly closer to his body.

Again that red haze settled over his mind as he drank from her mouth, as though she were ambrosia herself.

She made a soft, needy sound and Keith released her mouth to let her take in a gasp of air, just as his gave into his craving and his lips found the hollow of her neck.

"Keith!"

Her fingers tunneled into his hair, nearly mindless with desire as his mouth sucked hard at her skin.

Fireworks went off behind her eyes as her fingers flexed in his dark locks. She had never realized it could be like this, so darkly sensual and utterly consumed by the need to be touched by him.

He lifted his head long enough to recapture her mouth and she greedily took what he offered, opening her mouth wider so give him better access.

Emboldened by his soft groan of pleasure, Allura tentatively flickered her tongue over his.

Once more the breath left her lungs as she suddenly found herself flat on her back, Keith hovering over her, their fingers tangled together.

"You're playing with fire Princess."

His voice was a low growl and so potently _male_ that it washed over her like a tangible caress.

"Maybe I want to burn _Commander_."

His mouth was on hers before the last syllable left her lips and once more their tongue dueled for dominance, his fingers once again buried in the golden glory that was her hair. Her hands were not idle either as she as she gripped his arms, her nails digging oh-so-sweetly into his corded muscles.

When they came up for air the third time, neither one was breathing evenly.

"We," he said as he dipped his head once more to the smooth column of her throat, "should stop this now."

His mouth gave lie to his words as he laid claim to her skin, sucking so hard that he knew she would bear the imprint of his mouth on her skin.

If Allura had been a cat, she would have been purring in his arms at that particular moment. Instead her body reacted as though it had been touched by lightning and she arched her spine under the assault of his mouth, her fingers once more tunneling through his hair, keeping him captive at her neck.

"Please," she whispered, eyes glassy with the drunken pleasure of his touch, "don't stop. Not yet."

She had shut of all need for touch, for affection, the day her parents died. Now she was starving for his touch, all of her wall and barriers crashing around her at the slightest contact of his fingers. Now all she could do was feel.

The hot press of his lips against her skin, the smooth glide of his bandaged fingers on her body, the heated words, whispered from his lips.

She wanted all of it.

Once more she threaded her fingers through his hair...and this time she felt him wince as they glided over the tender spots made by his fight with Lotor.

 _Lotor...the battle...he's still hurt!_

Allura gasped loudly and pushed, hard, against Keith's chest.

"Allura? What's wrong?"

Keith's voice was urgent with worry, sounding breathless as his mouth was abruptly pulled away from his exploration of her skin as she pushed upon his chest.

"Keith! We have to stop, you're still injured!"

Keith didn't know whether to groan with frustration...or laugh at her bewildered, yet frantic, tone.

"Allura..."

"No! No! What was I thinking? I shouldn't be letting you do this with your injuries, what if you injure your hand before they heal? What if..."

Allura was babbling and she knew it and yet she couldn't seem to stop until Keith solved her problem by stealing the breath from her lungs with another stolen kiss, this one just as sensual as the last.

Her brain short-circuited and once more her arms found their way around his neck even as he gathered her up in his strong arms, secure in his embrace.

Seconds...an eternity later...he lifted his mouth from hers.

He stared down into her glassy eyes, her mouth swollen from his attention with her hair tumbling around her shoulders, and thought her the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes upon.

"My injuries are all but gone, thanks to you," he said gently and placed a bandaged finger against her lips when she opened to speak, "but if you are still worried, we'll stop for now."

Allura closed her mouth, her eyes still glazed. It took her a few moments to process his words as she was still focused on his mouth and all those delicious feelings they had stirred up in her.

But the words eventually did penetrate her muddled brain and then she frowned.

 _He's right, we need to stop...which means I need to leave now._

And therein lay the problem, she didn't want to leave.

"I...ah, yes. Yes, of course we should stop. I...I...need to get my clothes. Jacket, boots."

Puzzlement crept over his features and because she so rarely saw Keith with that look on his face, she was once more distracted by the nearness of him.

"Why do you need your jacket? Are you cold?"

This time is was Allura who was puzzled by his words. "I can't go walking in the halls without my jacket Keith, or my boots for the matter. You need rest...so I need to leave."

"Do you want to?"

"Want to what?"

"Leave," Keith said, gently pulling a strand of glimmering hair from her face, "because I would rather you stay."

Allura caught her breath, "But you need rest...and I...I..."

But the words trailed off as Keith simply laid down on his back, tucking her close to his body, still held in his arms.

"I can sleep perfectly like this."

His bandaged fingers were still stroking the long strands of her hair. The repetitive motion calmed the frantic beating of her heart and though her skin still felt too tight...she had to admit that lying next to him like this...was nearly perfect.

Allura sighed and felt her eyelashes flutter, weariness making her limbs heavy. Between the energy used to heal his bruises and the physical activity she and Keith had just engaged in...she soon found it impossible to move.

"Yes," she murmured sleepily, "this is nice too."

She turned her body to his, her head nestled on his shoulder. One hand and crept up so that it now lay directly over his heart.

She was asleep within a matter of minutes.

Keith turned his head, so that his lips brushed her hair and he placed his other hand over hers, the one resting over his heart.

He closed his eyes, and allowed himself to revel in an emotion that had missing for a very long time.

Contentment.

 _This,_ he thought as his mind began sliding into the deep oblivion of sleep, _is where I belong._


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes:** Update! Yes I know its been a while but at least I made it before the holidays! I hope everyone is enjoying the story and I promise I will update as often as possible! As always, all grammatical mistakes are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** You know the drill, I don't need to tell you!

Chapter 12

"She made broken look beautiful

and strong look invincible.

She walked with the Universe

on her shoulders and made it

look like a pair of wings."

Ariana

A chime at the door caught Allura's attention away from what she had been doing.

"Come in."

A young woman with peridot eyes and soft, chestnut colored hair pulled back in a multitude of braids wearing the uniform that spoke of her ties to Galaxy Garrison, entered her borrowed rooms.

"Princess? The Counsel has assembled. Are you ready to speak with them?"

Allura touched fingertips to the pages of a journal she had been reading, before deliberately closing the book shut.

She stood up, glanced once at the mirror and turned the uniformed officer.

"Yes, I am ready to speak with your Counsel. Are you to be my escort?"

But the woman shook her head and motioned for the princess to precede her. "No. Another has requested to escort you."

Puzzled by this as she knew no one save Colonel Hawkins here on earth and she knew him to be present at the Counsel, Allura left her stark room and wondered who awaited her.

She did not have to wait long and it took all of her diplomatic training not to gasp out loud when she saw Keith standing in full military dress awaiting her arrival.

His hair was still as wild and windswept as she remembered but the rest of him...

 _Like some prince from a fairy tale,_ she thought as her eyes drank him in.

The stark white and gold of his uniform only enhanced the perfect, lean lines of his body. The natural golden tones of his skin seem to glow and his eyes were twin reflecting pools of darkness that gave nothing away. Strapped to his side was a long sheath of purest white with a golden hilt and black cord wrapping the handle of the blade. Allura knew the weapon to be an ancient Japanese sword known as a katana.

His hand, covered in white gloves, rested gently on the hilt.

"Sargent Williams," Keith said, addressing the officer without looking at Allura, "I will take over from here. You are officially relieved of your duty to the Royal House of Arus."

"Sir!"

The young woman snapped him a precise salute and turned on her heel to give Allura a very formal bow.

"Princess it has been my privilege to serve you. If you ever return back to earth, I hope to see you again."

Allura smiled at the young woman. "It has been my pleasure, Sargent. I assure you, if circumstances allow me to return to earth, I shall look forward to renewing our friendship."

With a nod of her head, Williams left Allura and Keith together in the hallway.

Allura took a deep breath and turned to face the stone-eyed Commander.

Only to find that he was looking at her with an odd gleam in his eyes.

"Is something amiss Commander?" Allura asked, feeling suddenly nervous that had nothing to do with her upcoming meeting with Galaxy Garrison.

"You look...different."

Allura blinked at that. Of all the things he could have said, that was not one of them.

"Different? How?"

Keith did not know if he could explain it to her. On Arus he had always seen her as Allura, a woman of a devastated planet, who cared not for her royal status and was more than willing to get her hands dirty for the sake of her people.

He had seen her in battle, in full gear and a hard gleam to her eyes. He had seen her asleep, her long, golden hair spilled out like sunlight across his pillow and her face softened by a lush beauty that could not be feigned.

But he had not, until this day, seen her as what she truly was. A daughter of royalty, the Princess of Arus, soon to be queen.

Her hair had been brushed and styled until it hung like a golden waterfall down her back, not a single wave to be seen. She wore a delicate golden chain upon her brow with a glimmering sapphire suspended on the chain that mirrored the dark intensity of her eyes.

She wore formal attire of deep sapphire and gold. The dark, royal blue was a one-piece synthsuit that covered her from neck to ankle. Over the form-fitting garment was a golden gown made entirely of transparent silk.

The gowns sleeves flared slightly at the shoulders, before tightening just above the elbow. The neckline curved into a 'v', hugging her breasts and slim waist before flaring off to the sides in golden, transparent silk to fall to the floor.

She wore knee-high gold boots with delicate blue scroll-work along the edges. The contrast of deep blue against the back drop of shimmering gold had a striking effect. The formal attire looked military...and yet no one would mistake her for being anything than what she was, a royal sovereign on a visit to Galaxy Garrison.

"You may not claim the title of princess," he told her with serious eyes, "but that is what you are. No one here will ever mistake you for anything else than a daughter of royalty."

Allura stared at him, as though trying to figure out a difficult puzzle, and merely shook her hair.

"I am still myself. Now will you escort me to the counsel chambers?"

She frowned when he snapped her a military salute but did not refuse his arm when he offered it to her.

Delicately Allura curved her fingers to the inside of the crook of his arm and allowed herself to be escorted to the men who used to be his commanding officers.

 _Counsel Chambers of Galaxy Garrison_

"Welcome, Princess Allura of Arus, to the counsel of Galaxy Garrison. Colonel Hawkins had made apparent his request that you be allowed to speak to us."

Allura stared at the elder man who had much gray in his hair, sharp whiskey colored eyes and a uniform that told her that she had now met with the height of command for Galaxy Garrison.

The man was Commodore Thorne, and it was to he that Allura spoke her words to.

"Thank you for your welcome," Allura told him without a smile on her face, "though I doubt you or your people are very happy to have me here at all."

Voices were raised at once to her provocative words.

Allura cut through them in an instant, silencing their glib lies of pleasure at her presence.

"Gentlemen, let us speak plainly. I am here because of the injustice done to my planet by your military."

"Injustice? Princess Allura, might I inquire what 'injustice' was done to Arus?" replied Thorne and Allura instantly disliked his condescending tone as though she were an errant child. "We were under the impression that it was the Drule who had razed your planet to the ground."

"Yes, let us for a moment, speak of the Drule Empire."

Allura turned an eye to the counsel and gave them a hard smile. "When my planet was annexed thirteen years ago, where was Galaxy Garrison, who had proclaimed themselves to be our allies? When my parents were murdered in the throne room of Zarkon, where was Galaxy Garrison? When I and my people were forced to flee into caverns like animals, where was Galaxy Garrison?"

"Nowhere. You turned on us the moment you thought Voltron had been destroyed. For thirteen years my people and I survived, alone and unaided, to rebuild our lives. Now, after all this time, when Voltron is finally restored, you come back to my planet and _steal_ him, like thieves in the night."

"And yet," replied Thorne in his oily voice, "was it not us who sent Commander Kogane and his crew to your planet to help revive Voltron? I am under the impression that had it not been for their efforts, Voltron would still be lost to you."

"Yes," replied Allura, "let us also speak of Commander Kogane and the Voltron Force. You speak of Galaxy Garrison _sending_ Commander Kogane and his team on a mission to aide Arus and yet Colonel Hawkins had to secretly assemble the team because you, Galaxy Garrison, believed Voltron to be fairy tale and 'not worth the effort or man power to be wasted on a myth'."

She saw the military men shift in their seats and saw Thorne suddenly lose his look of superiority and frown slightly.

They had not expected her to know that piece of information.

"You sent me men whom you expected to die as you believed them to be expendable." Her voice became very soft, and yet each man silently shivered at the cold rage in her words. "Instead they found your 'fairy tale' and with my help, Voltron is now restored. We have beaten back Zarkon and instead of congratulating these fine men for their effort, you raid my planet and stole what rightfully belonged to my people and called them traitors for helping me take back what rightfully belongs to Arus."

She met each male's eye and it was they, and not her, who broke eye contact first. "You stole Voltron so that you could learn how to recreate him for military purposes. Has Galaxy Garrison now become like the Drule, bent on conquest and destruction?"

"See here!" called out one of the Admiral's. "We admit we did take Voltron to learn of your people's technology, but not for conquest but to _stop_ Zarkon's rein of tyranny over the galaxy!"

Allura turned cool blue eyes his way and though she was but a young woman, the Admiral felt stripped naked by her gaze, as though her eyes saw all the secrets in his soul. He swallowed hard, but continued forward with his words.

"You are correct to say that we lost something the day Zarkon annexed your planet. We never truly understood how much Voltron kept the Drule at bay...until the day he was reborn and we saw, after thirteen years, the Drule driven back. If one robot could do all, then think of what a fleet could do. We could liberate all of the planets still held under his domain."

Allura held her silence through his impassioned speech and she noted, reluctantly, that their was merit to his words.

Yet...

"Some of what you say speaks of the truth," Allura acknowledged with an incline of her head, "but I do not forget that it was a member of _your_ people who tried, yet again, to sell Arus out once more to the Drule."

"We have acknowledged that crime, thanks in no small part to Colonel Hawkins," Thorne noted, once more taking charge, "but will you judge all of us by one man's lack of moral character?"

"No," replied Allura softly and saw surprise quickly flash through the Commodore's eyes, "nor do I refute the truth of Admiral Stein's words. Voltron is badly needed in the galaxy and while I still abhor the methods you used to recreate a legend, this new _V-15_ has promise."

Once more her shrewd eyes traveled over the counsel and this time she allowed a small smile to come to her lips.

"Which is why I am willing to offer this compromise. I have come to understand that your scientists have had...difficulties with the technology of Voltron, which is why you need so many pilots to maintain the robot. So, I offer you this. I will allow your people, those who pilot V-15 and its technicians, to come to Arus and study the legend personally."

Allura waited until the sudden swell of voices died down and Thorne to speak once more.

"That is a generous offer Princess," replied Thorne, who gave her a wary look, "but what do you want in exchange for allowing us access to your planet and Voltron?"

"Something very simple, Commodore," Allura told him, "I wish for Galaxy Garrison to acknowledge Arus once more as a sovereign planet and be given every courtesy due to us."

Thorne gave her a half smile, "Do you wish to join the Galactic Alliance Your Majesty? I believe we could arrange, quite quickly, your planets admission."

But Allura was already shaking her head. "No, I thank you for the invitation, but Arus will remain apart. All I want is peace for my planet and my people. If you accept my proposal, I will consider us allies against a common enemy and should Galaxy Garrison need assistance from Voltron, then naturally as an ally, we will gladly come to your aide."

Allura knew, at that instant, she had them.

Commodore Thorne, as well as the six other Admirals and Colonel Hawkins, stood up as one and gave her a brisk salute.

"We, the ruling body of Galaxy Garrison, do hereby recognize the sovereignty of Arus and welcome you and your protectorate, Voltron, as valued allies. Call upon us and we will come to your aid."

Allura gave a deep curtsy, as befitting her rank as princess among her peers, in recognition to their words.

"I, as the Head of State to the sovereign planet of Arus, do hereby acknowledge and accept your offer of alliance. May our alliance bring prosperity and peace to the galaxies once more."

 _It is done,_ she thought as she made her way to shake hands with all the men, _my people, and Voltron, are safe once more._

Now all she had left to do was deal with Keith and the unfinished business between the two of them.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes:** Oh. My. Gods! I can finally update! Please, please forgive me on the long delay I had technical difficulties over the holidays! Now that I am up and running again I hope this makes up for the wait! As always all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Many, many thanks for all of my wonderful reviews! Keeps me writing...

Chapter 13

part I

"She is fire, he is ice.

One glimpse of her

ignites his stone cold eyes.

The heat of her body

melts the frozen

parts of his heart.

He walks through flames

just to feel her warmth."

Christy Ann Martine

He was waiting for her, just beyond the doors, as she knew he would be.

 _"Come in with me," she had asked him as they walked down the halls to the conference, "You have every much right to be there as I do. More so, since you lead Voltron."_

 _But he had shaken his head and gently disentangled her fingers from his arm as they reached the last stretch of hallway._

 _"No, Voltron belongs to Arus and it is_ you _who rule Arus. My presence will only complicate things for you in there. You'll do better without me by your side."_

Is that what you believe, _she had wanted to ask him,_ that I don't want you by my side? _But she had not asked him. He had been acting strange since that night she had entered his room. She had thought, finally, that they were going to be honest with each other about how they felt considering what they had done..._

Even now the memory of her time in his room made her blush with a fierce heat but she regretted nothing of that night.

She just wasn't so sure he felt the same way now.

"Well?" He demanded as she stepped through the doorway.

Allura could not keep the satisfied smile off of her face. "Arus is now an acknowledged sovereign planet of Galaxy Garrison. We are now formal allies and as such I have extended an invitation to the members of V-15 to come to Arus to learn more about Voltron."

Keith raised a winged black eyebrow at her words. "So we'll be having company? Don't know how Coran is going to feel about that."

It was well known her ex-military adviser did not like outsiders.

"Which is why I _also_ invited Colonel Hawkins as well," she told him in a slightly aggrieved voice.

"Hm."

Allura put her hands on her hips, "Keith I..."

But whatever she was about to say was lost when said Hawkins and the remaining members began coming out of the counsel chambers.

"Well that went well."

It was much apparent that Colonel Hawkins was very pleased with the turn of events. "It'll be a real pleasure to go back to Arus and I mean that Princess."

"Please, Colonel, can you not call me Allura?" she asked with a heavy sigh. "I told you, and I keep telling you, I am Head of State _not_ Princess."

"Sure, whatever you say Princess."

Allura bit back another sigh. He was as bad as Coran when he wanted to be.

Ignoring his baiting tone she turned a gimlet eye upon his imposing form. "When do we leave for Arus? I want to get back as soon as possible, we've been gone for too long and I do not trust the Drule to stay away."

"Well, as to that," Hawkins replied with a tug to his collar and decidedly uncomfortable air, "you _do_ remember your expected at the ball, correct?"

Allura scowled at the Colonel. "Yes and as I _reminded_ you, I am not attending. I have other duties awaiting me to go to such...frivolity."

"Be that as it may," interrupted Admiral Stein, with a slightly apologetic smile at Allura, "I'm afraid you really must attend. As Pr...ah, Head of State," he quickly amended at her daggered stare, "you are required to meet with the other visiting diplomats as to cement our new alliance. If you do not attend then it will be taken as insult."

Allura instinctively looked to Keith to back her up, but his eyes only held darkness and kept his own council on the matter.

It shouldn't have hurt, this silence of his, but it did.

"Fine," she acceded to their demands with ill grace, "if I must attend, so be it." A sudden malicious inspiration hit her and she acted upon it, "but I insist that the rest of the Voltron Force be allowed to attend as well."

She caught Keith's startled glance out of the corner of her eye but did not let show her pleasure at finally cracking his silent veneer, lest she tip her hand.

"Pr...I mean..." stuttered Admiral Stein over what to call her and Hawkins took pity on the man and intervened.

"I'm sure that will be perfectly acceptable Allura," Hawkins replied with an easy grin. "I'll clear it with the Commodore."

Both men gave Allura a salute and departed company, leaving Keith and Allura once more alone in the deserted corridor.

"Allura, what the hell are you thinking!" Keith hissed at her through clenched teeth. "I'm a solider, I don't belong at these functions."

"Well," snapped back Allura, "if you didn't want to attend then maybe you should have backed me up when I said I didn't want to attend either!"

"You're a princess! You're suppose to attend balls like these!"

Allura gave him an arctic look but Keith refused to back down.

"Is this what this is all about? The fact that everyone around here uses my title like its some kind of divine gift?"

Allura took a step forward and jabbed him in the chest, utterly infuriated by his sudden need to put space between them. "If you haven't noticed, I haven't been a princess for thirteen years!"

She spun on her booted heel and abruptly came to a halt when Keith reached out and grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"Allura..."

But she was too angry to listen to whatever excuses he could come up with and snatched her hand out of his. Tears gathered in her eyes she was so angry. She hated this, that whenever she got truly angry, she cried.

"Don't! Just...don't. I'm too angry to listen to whatever you have to say right now. I just want to be left alone. I'll see you at the ball."

"And if I don't attend?"

His words were cold, informal.

When she turned to look at him, her words were equally formal. "If you do not attend, Commander Kogane, then I shall take it as a sign that you no longer wish to lead the Voltron Force and accept it as your resignation."

The flash of shock was in his eyes before he could cover it. He knew she was angry with him but to say that...

"Giving me an ultimatum Allura? Are you sure you want to go down this road?" His voice was low,his anger palatable despite his soft tones.

Allura gritted her teeth against the tears. No she didn't want to go down this road but what choice was he giving her?

"It would appear that I have to," she said just as softly, "so I leave the choice to you, Commander."

Allura left him standing there as she walked away, both of them wondering how they had gotten to this point in so short a time.

She made it back to her room without incident and as soon as the door shut, she quickly stripped out of the formal clothing and went directly into the bathroom, turning on the jets to the shower until the room was soon filled with steam.

Allura let out a hiss as the hot water hit her sensitive skin, but the water did what she meant it to do and it began relaxing her tense muscles until she slowly felt her limbs loosen up.

It also allowed the tears to slide down her face with no one the wiser.

Her fist hit the tiled wall as soon as the tears began. "Damn that man! Why is he doing this to me!"

Her fists continued to pound on the tile, but all it got her was a sore hand. Breathing heavily, Allura braced her arms against the wall as the water continued to pour over her.

Her hair hung in long hanks around her body and she made no effort to move it.

"Why Keith, why?"

She closed her eyes and tried, once again, to understand the sudden change that had come over him.

 _She awoke to feeling a delicious heat in her body, a sense of languidness that she hadn't felt since...never._

 _"Allura, wake up."_

 _A voice filled with shadows-and-velvet, deeply male that made her eyes flutter open to see Keith's face looking directly over hers._

 _"Keith." Her voice was low, husky with sleep and still she could hear the sensual invitation in it._

 _It seemed he did as well, for his eyes dilated slightly and just as quickly she was in his arms, his mouth already covering hers that had her twining her arms around his neck._

 _She sighed into his mouth as his hands began molding her flesh..._

Allura's eyes popped open as the memory washed over her mind like a heated caress.

The water was no longer scalding but turning lukewarm and she was starting to shiver from the cold.

With a reluctant sigh, Allura quickly stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her hair and body.

A chime at her door startled the golden-haired woman as she was not expecting any visitors.

"Who is it?"

"Princess Allura? My name is Maeve and I was sent to help assist you."

Frowning, Allura quickly searched for something to cover up her body as the heat had made the pale scars on her arms stand out vividly and she imagined the ones on her back were probably just as visible.

But there was nothing to cover herself, except for the crumpled gold gown on the floor and the bodysuit would take too long to get into.

"Princess is everything alright?"

 _Damn,_ she thought, _no help for it now._

"Everything is...fine. Please, come in."

An older woman with dark, chocolate eyes and wavy ginger colored hair streaked with silver walked through the door.

"I thought we would start..." she began then stopped as she looked at Allura dressed only in her white towel, her arms and legs visible to the naked eye.

Her skin still held the heat of her shower, the white lines on her arms starkly visible.

"Is something wrong?" Allura asked with a touch of frost in her voice.

"Forgive me, your majesty, I was not expecting you to be bathed already."

Allura blinked at her words, for it was not what she had been expecting.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Since you have already showered we can move past that and start getting you dressed. The ball will start in a few short hours, so that should give us ample time to dress you."

The older woman came over to her and tilted her head as though studying her.

"Hmm, you are more slender than I imagined through the hips and legs yet you are not as flat chested as I had been led to believe."

The other woman began circling her and Allura could only stand there, clutching her towel in utter bewilderment.

"Hmm, smooth lines through the shoulders and...ah."

At her sudden change of tone Allura knew that she had seen the scars on her back.

"Is there a reason you are staring at me so intently?" Allura could not keep the anger out of her voice.

She did not like to be stared at, especially when she was in a state of partial undress.

"I need to look at you so that I can dress you properly for the ball."

The woman called Maeve seemed unruffled by her tone.

"I already have something to dress in." Allura told her with exasperation as she pointed to the crumpled gown in the corner.

The older woman had the gall to laugh at her. "Not nearly elegant enough for a ball, princess."

"I believe I have something that will suit you very well."

"So long as it covers all of me, I do not care what I wear."

Maeve stared at the golden haired woman and shook her head. She left the room and was back long enough for Allura to dry her hair long enough so that it was no longer held in a towel.

The gown was beautiful in its simplicity. It was the color of deep midnight, so dark a blue as to be nearly black.

It also bared her shoulders and back, as the gown was held in place by delicately wrought silver clasps.

"No," Allura said as soon as she saw the gown. "I will not wear that."

"At least try it on before you say no."

"I told you, I will not wear anything that does not cover all of me."

"Why? Because you bear the marks of war?"

Allura opened her mouth...and then stopped. "How do you know what these scars are?"

Maeve gave her a look that was not a look of pity but it was also not without kindness. It was a look filled with knowledge.

"Princess Allura it is well known that thirteen years ago Zarkon annexed your planet and took the royal family hostage. Of course you would bear marks from a Drule."

Without warning the older woman pushed back the sleeves of her shirt, and Allura saw the rings of scar tissues around each of her wrists at least an inch thick.

She knew those scars, for many of her people wore them. It was the unmistakable sign of being a slave to the Drule, as those marks could only be made by wearing the heavy chains day after day, month after month.

"How?" she asked.

"I was not always a citizen of earth," the woman said simply as she shook the sleeves back down into place .

"Yet you still cover your scars."

Maeve gave her a gimlet eye. "The weather has turned colder and as I am much older than you, my scars have a tendency to stiffen my wrists, so I wear clothing that keeps me warm. In the summer I am more than happy to bare my arms, scars and all."

Allura bit her lip, sighed and held out her arm.

"I will, at least, try the dress on. But," she warned as the woman smiled, "I make no promises I will wear it."

"It is enough that you will try it on. Sometimes courage is not just about surviving, but living as well."

Allura found she could not argue with wisdom such as that.

She tried on the gown.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Notes:** Update! Yes you didn't have to wait another month for the next chapter. I am improving on my speed...somewhat. * laughs * Don't get too used to it! As always, all grammatical mistakes are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Yeah, you know the drill...

Chapter 14

part II

"She wore her scars

as her best attire.

A stunning dress

made of hellfire."

Daniel Saint

Allura tugged at the hood of her cloak as the snow began to fall softly around her.

She felt...exposed.

Maeve, that odd woman who had come to help her dress, had managed to convince her to wear that gown of deep midnight and silver. She had not thought she would wear something so...revealing...

 _"There," the woman had said with a proud smile upon her face, "now tell me I have not chosen wisely."_

 _Allura had turned in the full length mirror to tell her exactly that...only the words could not leave her lips as she finally saw herself in the glass._

 _The woman before was not one she recognized. She was creature of beauty and subtle sensuality wrapped in an air of mystery._

 _"I...oh..."_

 _"Indeed. If I might be so bold, I dare say you will have your pick of dance partners at the ball, for what male would dare deny you?"_

 _Her words had the desired effect and at that moment Allura knew she would be wearing this gown to the ball._

"Please hold up your hand," requested an officer stationed at the entrance to the ballroom.

He held a portable scanner that she placed her hand on and instantly it pulled up her name on the invitation list.

"Your majesty, welcome to the Ball."

Allura inclined her head and made her way through the glittering throng. She kept her cloak firmly wrapped about her body, despite the many offers to remove it from her person.

She did not want anyone to see her before she made her entrance.

 _That way,_ she thought with a wry sense of humor, _I can always make a run for it with none the wiser._

Though she knew she would not, if only to see Keith's face when he saw her in her ballgown.

 _Never again,_ she vowed silently as she made her way through the halls and among the other guests, _I am never wearing another ballgown so long as I live._

Allura found herself following the other guests to a line where she saw, much to her chagrin, that they were actually announcing the guests to the assembly before allowing them through the double doors.

She was the last in line to be announced.

 _Surely this is a bit arcane,_ Allura thought but it seemed that Earth was big on formality.

"My lady? Might I take your cloak? I cannot allow you into the hall with it."

Allura looked to see an earnest face holding out his arm. _Damn,_ she thought with an unlike princess attitude, _guess its too late to back out now._

"Yes, of course."

Allura reached up and undid the simple clasp on the black cloak and turned so that the young man might pull the cloak for her shoulders.

It came away with ease as the heavy velvet fell away from the gossamer silk of her gown.

She was grateful that the ball was being held in the evening and that the hall where she stood was not brightly lit.

"My lady? If I might have your name to present to the announcer?"

With a silent sigh she gave him her name and titles and waited behind the closed doors to be announced.

Her wait was not long.

But it felt like an eternity had passed before she heard the announcer.

"Honored guests, distinguished visitors I present to you the daughter of King Alfor and Queen Amarya, Princess Allura of planet Arus and member of the Voltron Force!"

"Stop it Lance." Keith snapped out as he caught the pilot, once again, tugging at the collar of his formal uniform. "Try to act with some decorum, if only for tonight."

"Damn it, I can't help it Keith, this collar is _tight._ Feels like I'm suffocating in this thing." Lance complained as he yet again, tried to stretch out the collar in order to breathe properly.

"Man for once I agree with Lance," replied Pidge, who was also in formal uniform. "Did they really have to starch the collar this bad? How the heck are we suppose to eat?"

"Well, I see Hunk isn't having any trouble," joked Lance as he pointed at their friend who already had a plate of food and seemed to have no trouble putting it away.

"So where is Allura?" Lance asked as he looked around for the golden-haired woman, "I didn't get dressed up in this monkey suit for nothing! She had better not be standing us up."

Keith gave him an arctic look. "Allura said she would be here. Has she lied to us yet?"

"Whoa!" replied Lance holding up his hand, "it's a joke! I know Allura wouldn't bail on us. What has you so uptight? Don't tell me one of your fancy swords got stuck up your..."

But the rest of Lance's words were drowned out by the announcer. Each member of the Voltron Force had been listening for Allura's name and each time it wasn't called, they went back to milling around.

Or what passed for milling around.

Pidge had managed to squeeze through the crowd and join Hunk for a bite to eat.

Lance, bored and sensing his impending doom if he pissed Keith off even more than what he was, went to go find company of the female persuasion.

Keith...brooded.

He spoke only when spoken to and made no attempt to mingle with the general assembly, even when not-so-subtle invitations were sent his way to dance by passing females.

 _I'm here,_ he thought his mood getting blacker by the minute, _so where the hell is she?_

He did not like being blackmailed into attending formal events like these but it was either attend or give up being the leader of Voltron.

He would give up Voltron only when his body was stone cold and dead and his soul cast to the void.

So here he was, once again, in his dress whites in a place he never wanted to see again.

 _So why the fuck am I doing this?_

He knew why he was doing this and not all of it had to do with losing command of Voltron.

He could still see the bewilderment in her eyes, the hurt when she had turned to him for support and he...he had backed down.

His hand clenched as he hear the announcer proclaiming yet another name that was not Allura's.

His thoughts turned inward as he watched the dancers on the floor, memories once more taking over his vision.

 _She lay asleep in his arms, her long hair like a silken waterfall across the starch white pillows. She looked peaceful in a way he rarely saw in her. Her breathing was even, the pink of her lips parted as she breathed._

 _He had awakened to this sight, this woman lying in his arms, trusting him to guard her dreams._

 _He trailed a finger down the smooth column of her throat, the same throat he had kissed only hours ago._

 _"Allura," he said softly, "wake up." His digital readout noted the hour was late and if he did not wake her soon, both of them would be facing awkward questions and he would not do that to her._

 _She sighed but her eyes fluttered open and once more he was drowning in blue._

 _"Keith." Her voice a sigh, a caress against his senses. She was sleep-tousled and her lips curved up into a winsome smile when her eyes met his._

 _Every thought about time, about awkward questions flew from his mind as he gathered her once more in his arms and kissed her willing mouth._

 _In seconds her arms were already about his neck, pulling him closer as he devoured her mouth._

 _His hands stroked her body, making her shudder, sighing into his mouth as she returned his kisses with fervor..._

His mind snapped back from the memory as the announcer suddenly was crying out a name he recognized.

"...Alfor and Queen Amarya, Princess Allura of planet Arus and member of the Voltron Force!"

 _Finally,_ he thought his mood still black as he shoved his way through to the crown so that Allura could get a good look at him and he could be on his way.

He wasn't staying a minute past more than what was necessary and he was going to...

His brain disengaged as soon as he caught sight of her as the crowd parted to let the last member of the royal house of Arus pass through the doors.

It didn't matter that he was in a room full of diplomats, royalty from other planets or half the Garrison. Only one thought went through his mind at that exact moment.

 _Mine._

She stood apart from the glittering throng, like a goddess surveying her domain and deciding if she truly wanted to mingle among mortalkind.

She was dressed in a gown of the midnight sky awash in starlight. The straps of her gown were made to resemble delicate twining vines and leaves with a dangling silver pendant attached to lay nestled between her breasts.

The gown dipped low in the back, nearing the base of her spine, before sweeping to the floor in floating, midnight waves. The sleeves of the gown bared her shoulders, attached to the delicate straps by equally delicate hoops of silver, clinging to her upper arms before flaring at the wrists.

Her skin, when it caught the light, glimmered as though someone had crushed diamonds then used a brush to run over the exposed flesh. Her hair fell behind her in rippling, golden waves held back by only a simple, silver circlet across her brow.

Her arrival had stunned the crowd into an almost preternatural silence, but it wasn't until she began to move across the floor, the sleeves around her arms flaring and her hair swaying gently behind her, that the murmurs began.

"...last of the royal line I heard..."

"...been missing, thought dead after the annexation..."

Their voices beat against her but her expression never altered of that of calm serenity.

"...those scars on her back!"

"...her arms, I heard she was captured as a child..."

She made herself deaf to their words, for they meant nothing to her. Instead she lifted her head to those who stared at her until each and every one backed away or turned away from those cerulean eyes that saw everything and yet gave nothing away.

"Allura."

She stopped abruptly upon hearing her name on the lips of the male she had truly not thought to see here tonight.

He stood there, surrounded by royalty and dignitaries, like a stalking leopard among the bleating sheep.

His military dress whites had been pressed and starched until the edges seemed as sharp as knives. His hair had been combed and smoothed back and still a single, raven lock fell over his forehead and curled around the gold piping of his collar.

His dark, obsidian eyes flashed black fire as she turned in his direction, her hair sliding around her until all he could see, for a solitary moment, was the smooth curve of her spine, a spill of moonlight against the indigo of her gown.

He wanted to rip out the eyes of the males around him who looked upon her with desire.

She was his.

It didn't matter that he was madder than a pissed hornet for being blackmailed into coming here. It didn't matter that the last words spoken to each other were in anger.

She was still his and he would be damned if he let another male touch her.

He held out a gloved white hand to her and gave her the sharp side of his smile when her starry sapphire eyes widened in astonishment at the gesture.

"Dance with me."

It wasn't a request but a demand cloaked only by the thinnest veil of civility.

"Now wait just a minute!"

"You can't just demand the Princess to dance with you!"

"I saw her first, wait your turn!"

But the cries of the males who wanted a chance to hold the Princess of Arus fell on deaf ears.

For Allura and Keith it was as if they were the only two standing in the room.

She stood there, looking at him and except for that brief flash of surprise, her face seemed carved of alabaster giving him no clue as to what was going on behind those lovely eyes of hers.

For a moment something akin to panic passed through him, a fear that she would turn away from him, refuse his hand and take up another offer.

He knew she she refuse him, he would not, _could not_ walk away from her.

He would never know what he would have done had she walked away, for at that moment Allura gave a brief incline of a head, her eyelashes dipping to cover the glory of her eyes before lifting once more to look at him as she moved with ethereal grace to cross the distance between them and lay her hand into his.

He was already pulling her into his arms, using his own deft grace to move them about the dance floor. Such was the ease of their movements that neither broke eye contact as they swirled about the glittering throng of onlookers.

Allura did not speak to him, but merely kept those watchful eyes of hers upon his face. Like him, she too, seemed reluctant to shatter the silence that had enveloped them.

Something in him constricted at the wariness in her eyes and he knew he had no one to blame but himself for seeing it back again.

Despite the harsh words between them and the methods she used to get him here, he knew that none of that would have been necessary had he not simply been honest with her.

"I'm sorry."

Allura blinked and looked about her in confusion.

"Allura?" Keith asked, at a loss for why she looked so confused. "What's wrong?"

"I can't tell if I'm dreaming or not." Her words sounded so normal that it took him a moment to understand the meaning.

"Why would you think you're dreaming?"

"Because you apologized to me, yet I haven't spoke a word. So I must be dreaming because the real Keith would never apologize first."

 _Ouch,_ he thought as he visibly winced at the barbed words, _I guess I deserved that._

"Allura," he said softly but intently, "you're not dreaming and I did apologize."

But she shook her head. "No, that doesn't help at all. I would expect you to say that in my dream."

Keith growled softly to her. "Does my still being madder than a hornet about being blackmailed by you factor into your dreams as well?"

Again Allura blinked at him with those beguiling eyes but she no longer seemed confused, instead a soft, lilting smile lifted the corners of her mouth.

"Ah, there is the Keith Kogane I know. So, _Commander,_ why did you apologize and for the matter, why did you demand I dance with you? Last time we talked, you seemed to have forgotten I even existed."

Keith turned Allura in his arms and gave his coldest, most lethal look to a gaudily dressed male who had had the balls to try and step between him and Allura.

The other male quickly backed away, not willing to risk life or limb for a single dance.

Allura missed the exchange as it had happened while she was spinning in Keith's arms.

"I didn't demand a dance," Keith said and Allura arched a slender eyebrow at him. Keith let out a huff that might have been a sigh...or an aborted attempt at laughter. "All right, I suppose I did."

"Indeed. But you're evading my questions, so either answer...or let us finish this dance so we can end this...whatever this is."

Keith sighed and once more Allura found herself being swept around the ballroom and abruptly out the doors that overlooked a small balcony.

As soon as the attendants closed the doors behind them, Keith allowed Allura to pull away from him so that they could talk properly.

"Well I await your response Commander."

"Stop calling me that," he said softly yet his voice held a lethal edge that could not be ignored, "It's Keith as you damn well know."

Allura folded her arms beneath her chest, making the fabric tighten and making Keith quite aware that she was wearing nothing beneath the thin material.

His hand tightened into a fist.

"So," replied Allura unaware of the storm she was evoking inside of him, "you tell me to drop your title and call you by your name now, but what about tomorrow? Will you pretend none of this happened as well and go back to calling me 'princess' and pretending I don't matter to you?"

Keith ran a hand through his hair, not caring that he was ruffling it. "I...that's what I was apologizing for. The way I treated you earlier."

She hadn't expected that and it left her slightly off-balance but she quickly found her footing again.

"Why did you treat me so coldly? Is it," she pulled in a sharp breath, "...is it about what happened on the _Explorer?_ Do you...regret what happened between us?"

 _If he say's yes,_ she thought as the breath in her lungs seemed to freeze, _I don't know if I could bear to here it._

"What?" replied Keith in shock that she would think such a thing, "No! Allura," he came to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, "I don't regret _anything_ about that night."

The breath that had threatened to choke her suddenly loosened its grip and for a moment she swayed, light-headed from the sudden relief his words produced.

Keith felt the strength go out of her and his arms was already around her waist, cradling her against the solidarity of his chest.

"I...I was so afraid you regretted..." she breathed out, burying her head against his warmth, "I..."

"Shh, Allura no," Keith whispered stroking the soft, sleek strands of her hair, "never that. I've done many things that I regretted over the years but that night is not one of them."

"Then _why?_ Why shut me out?"

Keith closed his eyes as the memories came.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Notes:** Another update! Yes I am making up for lost time. Please enjoy this chapter * manic laughter *...ahem, ok I'm done. As always, all grammatical mistakes are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world and boy am I having fun!

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Yeah, you know the drill.

Chapter 15

part III

"You became

my blood,

my bones;

I had to

tear myself

apart to

let you go."

Jessica Katoff

 _"I have to go," she said softly as she looked over her shoulder, "I'll see you in a few hours."_

 _But she had barely taken a step when Keith's strong arm slipped about her waist, pulling her up against him._

 _"Keith, I really..." she turned her head to finish her words but his mouth was already claiming her own and she did not fight at all to leave his embrace. Instead her arm sneaked up around his neck._

 _How long she stood their in his arms, she did not know, but when he released her mouth she found she had no breath left in her._

 _"...need to let you go, I know." He finished for her, a slight curve of his lips at her dazed expression._

 _"Go?" she asked, her tone sounding oddly confused._

 _A husky laugh from his lips had her snapping back into focus. Letting out a huff, she playfully pushed at his chest._

 _"That was not nice Commander."_

 _Lifting her chin, he ran his thumb over her swollen lips. "I am not a nice man, Princess."_

 _A shiver of awareness went through her and once more she felt her mouth go dry and the butterflies in her stomach began beating in earnest._

 _She saw the dark fire in his eyes flash and knew he heard the catch in her breath._

 _"Go." his voice sounded rough as he pulled his arm away from her waist. "Before I change my mind."_

 _"I," Allura began, her head and her heart having a fierce battle at that moment. Her head told her that she needed to leave, now, before someone saw them and began asking questions neither she nor Keith were ready to answer. But her heart told her that she needed to stay and damn the consequences._

 _"Allura," again his voice sounded rough, a touch of darkness to his tone, "_ go, now. _I only have so much control and I'm at my limit. Unless," and this time there was no denying the heat in his gaze, "you want to finish what we started earlier."_

 _Allura swallowed, hard. She took a step back and for a moment she saw a flash in his eyes._

 _Relief? Disappointment? She didn't know and called herself every kind of coward for not daring to ask._

 _"No," she replied, her voice breathless. She closed her eyes and gave herself a count of five before opening them again. "A starship," she continued her voice steadier, "is not how I imagined my first time."_

 _"Oh," Keith asked and despite his adamance she leave, he reached out and drew a lock of hair, rubbing the silkiness of it between the pads of his fingers, "how did you imagine it?"_

That, _Allura thought as she closed her eyes,_ is not fair. He's not allowed to sound like that.

 _His voice was pure seduction, a whisper of darkness, of moonlight and silken sheets. She opened her eyes to see him looking at her with those eyes of midnight and decided he wasn't allowed to look at her like that either if he expected her to form a coherent answer to his questions._

 _"With my feet on the ground." she told him, pitching her voice for teasing lightness. She gave a quick toss of her head and her hair slithered out from between his fingers._

 _"I'll be going now."_

 _A husky laughter was her only response as she beat a hasty retreat from his room. She could not, however, keep the smile from her lips._

 _Her stalwart commander had shown her a side of him she would never have imagined existed half a year ago._

 _The huskiness of his laughter, the curve of his lips as he tried not to smile, that flash in his eyes that warned her was thinking not-so-pure thoughts about her. They were all her treasures she horded close to her heart._

 _Keith watched Allura walk away with a definite bounce to her step, her hair tumbling about her in sensual disarray. He still could not stop the curve of his lips from lifting. He had never met anyone like her, not in all of his twenty-eight years of living._

 _Despite the pain and loss in her life, she had not lost herself in darkness. There was something about her that dazzled the eye. That dared those around her not to bask in her light._

 _Keith was turning away from the door, forcing himself not to watch her walk away least he be tempted to go after her, when he heard a cough._

 _He turned back to see Hawkins standing there and the look on his face was not a promising one._

"Keith?" Allura asked when he remained silent. He was looking down at her, but she could tell, instinctively that he really wasn't looking at her.

His eyes blinked and she saw once more the focus come back upon her.

"That night you left," he started without preamble, "Hawkins saw us."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. I was alone in the hall when I left. We made sure of that."

"Apparently Hawkins was making his rounds and caught the tale-end of your...departure."

Allura sucked in a breath. She too, remembered how they had departed.

With laughter and promises.

"And?" she demanded, "What did he say to you?"

Obvious Hawkins' visit was the reason Keith had cut her off at the emotional knee's, to use an earthian phrase.

"He reminded me of a few things."

Allura's eyes narrowed at him, not liking his tone. It was cold and aloof, just like when she had first met him all those months ago.

Closed off, only allowing her to see the outer shell that was him. Her teasing, playful lover was nowhere to be seen.

"He reminded you of _what_ Keith?" Her voice was soft but it broke no argument. She would have no evasion, would not be brushed off.

She wanted the truth and she would accept no other explanation.

Keith stepped away from her and she felt his loss keenly.

"He reminded me that you were not _just_ a woman, Allura, but for all intent and purposes, the queen of Arus."

"You don't belong to just me, but to an entire planet."

Allura did not react to his words as he expected. From his experience with women, he had expected tears and rage and anger at being shoved away so abruptly.

A purely emotional response.

But for a single moment, he had forgotten that she wasn't _just_ a princess, but the survivor of a holocaust and one of the founding members of Voltron.

She lifted a slender, golden eyebrow at him. "So," she replied in her cool, no nonsense voice, "you were reminded that _one day_ I might be crowned the Queen of Arus. You were also reminded that I hold the lives of an entire planet in my hands."

Keith blinked at the frost in her tone. "Allura, wait.." but she cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"I had thought you stronger than that Keith. You faced down death on multiple occasion, went toe-to-toe with Lotor, who is one of the deadliest warriors in the Drule empire _and_ took down several robeasts without batting an eye.

But being seen in a relationship with me, _a possible future queen,_ makes you halt in your tracks."

She could only shake her head. "Of all the possible explanations I had envisioned of why you suddenly pulled away, that was never one of them."

She turned her back on him then and walked over to where the balcony overlooked the garden. Even in this technological age, where Earth had many of the advanced systems, they still had an eye for natural beauty.

"Allura, you keep speaking of you being a possible queen, how is that feasible? You're already the princess, hell your father was the King."

She refused to look at him, but when she spoke, it was not with anger. Just weary resignation.

"Being the monarch of Arus is not a given, just because you are born to royalty," she told him as she sat down on the stone ledge. "To rule Arus, you have to be chosen."

Keith frowned at that, he had never heard of anything like what she was telling him.

 _And,_ he thought with growing anger, _neither does Hawkins._

"Explain it to me."

She looked over her shoulder, the golden fall of her hair catching the moonlight and he could not help as his eyes followed the glistening strands.

Her beauty always caught his eye, it wasn't something he could ignore.

However she seemed disinclined to notice his appreciation of her. "I will explain what I know," she told him, her hand folded quietly in her lap but she still refused to meet his eye. "There is a...ritual, for choosing the ruler of Arus. Don't ask me," she told him when she caught him opening his mouth at the corner of her eye, "what that ritual is. It's different for each monarch. Everyone calls my father Alfor the Wise, Alfor the Generous. But he didn't receive those titles until _after_ his hair was streaked with silver and he held the title of King."

"So let me get this straight, you're saying your father's hair is the reason he became King?"

He could not quite keep the skepticism out of his voice.

"My father's hair turned silver on his twentieth birthday. It is on that day that the future ruler of Arus is marked."

She gave a sigh and absently pushed a strand of hair away from her face. "While it is true that many members of my family have ruled, indeed our first ruler was none other than my many-times removed grandfather Altarus, it is also true that not all of our monarchs have come from the main bloodline."

"So what you're telling me," Keith began, suddenly making sense of the words she was saying, "is even though you hold the title of princess, you may not be 'chosen' to be ruler?"

Allura gave a nod of her head. "Exactly. Why do you think I've been pushing so hard for people to call me Allura, or if they must use a title, Head of State? As of this moment, yes, I am the ruling body of Arus but there could be another who will be chosen to rule Arus."

"How will you know?"

Allura made a sound that could have been a laugh...or simply the moan of a breeze. "I don't. My father..." she took a deep breath for even after all this time, it was still painful to think about her parents, "...my father was suppose to explain the ritual to me when I was of sufficient age. But that knowledge died with him."

"What about Coran? Wasn't he a trusted adviser to your family?"

This time she did look up at him and he could see the pain in her eyes. He just now realized that with his questions he had opened up some old wounds inside of her.

"Adviser, yes but Keith you must understand...this ritual, the choosing of our monarch, it is a sacred rite. Only the monarch, and his or her priests, knew the true nature. My father, my mother, they are both dead and Zarkon slaughtered our priests. We have but novices and our sacred texts were destroyed in the annexation. There is no one alive who knows what will happen."

"Allura, I'm sorry."

This time she did not slide her eyes away from his, nor did she pull away when he sat next to her and took her chilled hand into his.

"What for?"

"For asking you questions that are obviously hurting you." His voice was quiet and his eyes...she saw, to her surprise, a ghost of remembered pain when she looked into them.

"I know better then anyone how painful it is to remember parents when they were alive. There are some wounds that really never heal and even on my best days, I don't like talking about mine."

Allura took in a shuddering breath. "Thank you," she said softly, "for that. It makes it easier to bear...knowing that someone else has felt this pain, who understands."

"Allura you know I would never do anything to hurt you."

"I know Keith," she said softly, even when she pulled her hands from his, "but you did anyway. Not with your words, but your actions. You decided something about us...without even asking me how I felt."

"Allura, wait," Keith called out as she stood up and moved away from his side.

Allura turned to him and gave him a sad, sort of smile. "You came here tonight, so you still want to be the Commander of Voltron. That, at least, is something."

She moved away but he caught her wrist with a speed that managed startle her.

"I'm human, Allura. I make mistakes."

She turned her head away from his. She could not look into his eyes, for she drowned every time she did.

"Is that what I am, a mistake then?" her voice was soft and yet Keith could hear the heartbreak in her voice.

"No," his voice was ruthless and he would not allow her to dismiss him. He captured her chin in his gloved hand, forcing her to look at him. "Yes, I did make a decision regarding us...but I thought I was protecting you."

"No," she told him, her eyes bright but there were no tears, "you were protecting yourself. I know you've been hurt Keith and so have I but as I was reminded so recently, sometimes true courage is living, rather than merely surviving."

She pulled out of his grip and this time he let her go.

"I don't know what this is between us," she gave him a look of pure sorrow and he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms, "but it was real, it meant something to me. _You_ meant something to me."

"Allura," he reached out a hand to her, "don't. You know you matter to me. Don't walk away."

She lifted her chin. "Then say it Keith. Tell me."

He knew what she meant, the meaning behind the vague words. But those words were locked behind the walls of his heart, and he could not speak.

His hand dropped away.

She closed her eyes, as though the sight of him was too much for her to bear.

She turned her back to him. "I'm going back inside, where I will finish my duties. I will not force you to stay any longer. Good night Commander Kogane, I will see you when we depart for Arus in the morning."

He had no answer, no reply and could only watch mutely, as she walked away from him.

He had, with his actions, broken something between them.

And he had no idea how to fix it.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes:** Update! Oh my gosh I am so, so late with my updates! Please don't kill me, I promise I haven't forgotten about Allura or her handsome Commander! Hopefully this was worth the wait! All grammatical errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** I LOVE all my reviews, you make me so happy to be a writer!

Chapter 16

"There is a sacredness in tears. They

are not the mark of weakness, but of

power. They speak more eloquently

than ten thousand tongues. They are

messengers of overwhelming grief...

and unspeakable love."

Washington Irving

 _Home._

Such a simple word for so many. Sometimes it was a place, a dwelling where one could go back to the familiar and the comfortable. Sometimes it resided in a person and not a structure at all. Perhaps it was the way that person's smile eased a tension one was not aware of carrying until they felt the body relax and fill with warmth and the undeniable sense of belonging.

For Allura, it was all of that and more.

On this night she was once more alone in the darkness, the moonlight her only companion. On Earth, their season of winter had just begun and she remembered seeing her breath in the air, the sharp bite of the wind. Here, on her beloved Arus, spring was slowly giving way to summer. Her feet, clad only in a thin, white slipper, stepped silently on the spongy ground.

The night air held the smells of new grass and elusive flowers already beginning to bloom, shooting forth from the yielding dirt.

The breeze, though gentle, still had a touch of cool frost to it and Allura pulled the much mended shawl around her slim shoulders.

Fingering the material, she blinked the tears from her eyes. The ice blue cloth shimmered underneath the moon's pale light and she touched the delicate spray of purple and silver flowers that decorated the edging.

Once upon a time it had belonged to her mother, a birthday gift from her father that she had worn constantly, until the war had come and the cloth practically destroyed among the ruins of the palace.

So it had come to her as a great shock, albeit a happy one, when one the women who had been a palace seamstress, had come up to her and simply lay the folded shawl into her hands.

 _"We, that is all of us who have regained the art of weaving, thought to present this to you on your natality, but seeing you come back to us, alive and unharmed, is reason enough to celebrate. Welcome home Princess."_

Allura blinked at the remembered words and the feeling of happiness and grief both in measures. Happiness at receiving her mother's shawl, painstakingly mended, and grief that she, not her mother, would now be the one to wear it.

She had covered the older woman's hands with her own and managed to speak past the lump in her throat, barely able to recall what she spoke, but it had brought tears and a smile to the woman's face.

She had understood the intent behind the words, and it was enough.

Now that she had assured her people that she was alive, and indeed had brought guests, she wanted time alone to herself.

She had reconnected with her people, now it was time to do the same with her planet.

Thus her midnight wanderings wearing nothing more than a thin, white nightgown, her mother's shawl and slippers that did nothing to stop her toes from feeling each indentation of the earth.

It was more than sufficient.

"Somehow I thought I would find you out here."

 _Keith._

Of course he would find her. He had the most uncanny ability of being able to find her when she least wanted to be found.

"Why are you here?" Her voice sounded distant and flat, even to her own ears.

She had not spoken to him since the night of the ball. She had not meant for it to be that way...

Except somehow it had and even now she did not know how to speak to him. She did not know how to see him and _not_ see him.

So she had taken refuge in allowing the others to speak with him, while she allowed herself to be consumed by her duties as acting hostess to the V-15 delegation.

But here, outside where only the moonlight and the swaying tree's were their only companions, she had no other option but to speak with him.

"Your safety is my responsibility, where else would I be?"

His voice sounded...hard and unyielding.

She turned to look at him and once more felt her heart clench in unrelenting torment.

She still felt the pull between them, like invisible lighting that seemed to crackle whenever they were in close proximity of each other, but she had already learned that this particular lightning could burn as easily as any fire.

And hurt just as much, if not more.

"I though Sven now took over the night watch?" She kept her voice calm, even. She would not be pulled into another verbal sparring match with this male. She had offered him everything that was her, so certain the he would do the same and instead...

Rejection. Pain. All because of the royal blood that flowed through her veins.

She had made the offer once, she would not make a mistake by doing so again.

"We're back on regular rotation now. Allura, why are you out here in the dead of night? What were you hoping to accomplish dressed like that..." he waved a vague hand at her, encompassing everything from the twin braids of her hair to the thinness of her nightgown.

Once more her fingers tightened around her mother's shawl. "What's wrong with the way I am dressed?"

Her voice came out sharp, defensive.

 _Damn, so much for staying calm._ Why is it, after everything said and done between them, he could still slip past her emotional armor?

"You're not dressed for the cooling temperatures," he folded his arms and pinned her with his dark gaze, "you'll catch a chill."

"I'm fine," she retorted, "and I don't recall asking your opinion on the manner of my dress, Commander."

His mouth tightened perceptively and Allura felt the tears crowding the back of her throat. She didn't _want_ to hurt him but he was not making this easy for her, or for him.

She closed her eyes and once more strive for calm that she truly didn't feel.

"Go back to your watch Commander Kogane," she said softly, "I neither want nor need your company."

 _Liar,_ that little voice whispered inside her mind.

"No."

Allura's eyes popped back open and for a moment she had wondered if she had actually spoken allowed, only to realize it was Keith who had spoken.

"Excuse me?" Her calm, which she had striven to keep about her like a cloak, was slowly burning away under the ashes of her growing anger.

She could scarce believe her eyes when he raised a single, winged eyebrow at her with lazy arrogance that seem to flout her authority over him.

"I said no." His voice was soft, calm as though defying her wishes was something that he did often. "So long as I am on watch, you _will_ remain in my line of sight."

She couldn't believe this, of all the time for him to dig his heels in, he had to it _now_?

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his stubborn refusal to leave her side.

"Fine," she replied, tightening the shawl more protectively against her body, as though somehow the physical feel of the familiar cloth would protect her from the hurt inside, "if that is how you feel, then do as you please."

Allura turned her back to the dark-eyed Voltron leader and with swift, angry strides began walking away from him.

Her calm was broken and her thoughts scattered as she was acutely aware of her dark shadow following her every movement.

He said nothing to her, but merely kept his distance, but always within his line of sight.

 _Just like he promised,_ that little voice purred again in her mind, _so shall we test that promise?_

She frowned at that line of thought. True she had planned...

Allura shook her head, the ends of her hair slapping at her nightgown. Absently she picked up an end and rubbed the strands between her fingers. Her hair felt oily and she was once again reminded of _why_ she had come out so late. She had not truly meant to linger outdoors but the breeze had felt so good and the moon so inviting she had simply strayed off her path.

 _So, go on,_ insisted that traitorous little voice in her mind, _and we'll see if our dark-eyed and oh-so-delicious Commander still thinks of us as 'duty'._

Allura bit her lip, the last time she had listened to that little voice she had ended up in Keith's room on the _Explorer._


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Notes:** Second update! Yes, yes I know, it's either feast or famine with me, but hey at least you won't have to wait another month for an update! As always all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Yeah, you know the drill. Like it? Hate it? Let me know!

Chapter 17

"You wore

the scent

of my future,

your lips

tasted like

moonlight and spring."

Anita Krizzan

 _Well,_ demanded that insistent voice, _have you suddenly become the coward? A weak-willed, sniveling little girl who is suddenly_ afraid _of what others might think of her._ That voice, her own that spoke of the fire in her soul, sneered at her. _Well if that is who you are now, then perhaps Keith was right to reject you._

Allura's lips peeled back from her teeth in a silent snarl. No she would never be that weak. She hadn't gotten this far in life to be cowed by the thoughts of others.

 _So, just because Keith showed up doesn't mean I need to alter my original plans. If he is going to be that pig-headed about 'keeping an eye on me' well then..._

A slight lift of her lips that held a hard, amused edge to it.

"Allura, where are you going now?"

There was exasperation in his voice...as well as a hint of curiosity, but only for those who had learned to listen for such things.

She was one of them.

Allura looked over her shoulder and arched a golden eyebrow at him, not unlike the look her had given her during their previous conversation.

"I am heading back towards the caves, I should think that would be obvious. As you bluntly stated, I am not exactly dressed to stay outdoors for very long."

"Then why come out here in the first place." He growled softly, making the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up, a purely instinctive response to an aggressive male.

Allura tilted her head and simply looked at him. "You," she said in a deceptively mild voice that made his skin tighten and his teeth clench, "are being rather obnoxious this night, but I will over look your rudeness. I was actually heading somewhere else, but I caught a glimpse of the moon and felt the breeze and decided to enjoy a moment of solitude."

 _Which you interrupted._

The words were not spoken, but they hung in the air between them. Keith did not apologize for that, he was here to keep her safe...but at the same time some of the anger leaked out of his eyes.

She hadn't intentionally tried to bait him by wandering outdoors in such thin clothing.

"Alright, so you got distracted," he replied, folding his arms over his chest, "so then, where were you headed in the middle of the night?" Again that cool tone that would have mislead many into believing he was merely bored with this conversation...except Allura caught the hard glitter in his eyes, the tiniest bit of tension around his mouth.

 _Hmm, perhaps wondering if my somewhere else actually means some_ one _else, Commander? But no, you're too much the solider, too much the tactician to ever ask me that directly._

A tiny, secret smile flitted around her lips and she watched as his eyes narrowed oh-so-slightly at her response.

"I'm going there now. Since you made it perfectly clear that you must be able to see me at all times, I suppose you can come along."

Her voice was utterly bland, a perfection of politeness.

Keith ground his teeth together so tightly that it made his jaw ache. He knew when he was being deliberately baited. _So be it._

He gave a quick nod of his head and once more she turned her back to him and continued walking ahead of him.

She stopped, only once, to pick a small bag at the head of the cave. He dearly wanted to know what was in the bag, but kept his tongue firmly behind his clenched teeth.

His annoyance with her soon began to abate as they moved deeper into the caves and once more his curiosity came to the forefront. Where could she going that she had to do it after the sun went down?

The caves themselves now had working electricity, instead of the more primitive and less effective torches they had been forced to use. However only the recess lights were one, giving the caves a soft, warm glow that allowed them just enough light so that they wouldn't trip over any obstacles.

Or each other for that matter.

Keith made a priority of memorizing each of the known cave routes in case of emergency or evacuation, so it was starting to become clearer where Allura was headed.

The knowledge left him feeling at both relieved...and wary.

Relieved because this particular route did not lead to any of the more active communities, which meant less likely she was meeting someone, but that also meant that she...

 _Splash._

Keith closed his eyes as the sound of water became more pronounced. His suspicions were confirmed when she turned the corner and took the path that led directly to one of the lesser known pools.

The caverns, he had learned on his explorations trips, were riddled with spring fed pools.

Some, like the one in Torela, had been converted for practical purposes. The natural waterfall was an excellent resource to generate electricity and so the community had formed around the massive lake.

But the smaller ones, like the one Allura was headed for, were used for one reason only.

Bathing.

Keith noted the red marker on the sign as he had turned the corner. An easy system that even a child could understand.

Red, in use. White, open.

Allura was already putting her small bag, from which he assumed held her bath supplies, one of the small outcropping of rocks.

Again the recess lights were still on, but this particular pool gave off its owe glow due to the minerals in the water.

The pool itself looked as though it was glowing from the middle and was a lovely shade of turquoise. Further back where the lights just cast shadows, was a small waterfall that made the sound of splashing he had heard before seeing their destination.

"I was under the assumption that the castle was equipped with running water."

Allura turned at the sound on his voice and gave a brief incline of her head in acknowledgment. "True, but with the castle now diverting power to make sure the Lions can be maintained on a regular basis, the only bathing do be done is under the spray of _cold_ water from a very quick shower."

"Alright," Keith understood the want of having a hot a bath versus a cold shower, "but why are you doing this at night? Why not during normal hour, or hell even in the evening?"

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he already knew the answer. _Because she's less likely to be disturbed at this time. Especially since now that Hawkins and the rest of V-15 have arrived._

Allura gave him a brief smile. "Precisely." she replied to the knowledge in his eyes, "so now you know the 'why' of my reasons for being out so late." She gestured at the pool, which had small curling tendrils of steam rising from the waters, "As you can see, I am perfectly safe. Unless, of course, you think there might be Drule lurking about, waiting to capture me as soon as I am undressed."

 _You can leave Keith,_ her eyes said to him, _there is no reason to stay._

 _None at all,_ his eyes replied back, _but that doesn't mean I'm leaving._

"Stay then," she said in an arched tone, "but turn your back."

Keith put his hands on his hips, "I've seen a naked woman before Allura." _Including yours,that is, if you've forgotten that particular memory._

"Good," she replied with honeyed venom in her voice, "then mine should hold no appeal to you. Turn around." _I've forgotten nothing, but that doesn't mean you'll ever see me that way again. You don't want me, remember._

They stood there, staring at each other, having their silent conversations, but in the end Keith turned his back.

He swallowed hard as he heard the soft sound of cloth hitting the ground. It was all to easy to picture her pushing the thin nightgown from her shoulders, letting it slide down her warm flesh...

 _I should have left when I was given the chance,_ he contemplated but knew that to be a lie even as he thought it.

Nothing was going to make him leave until she was safely back in the castle.

The sound of splashing water had him turning back around, only to see Allura coming up out of the water, her hair rippling down her back like liquid sunshine.

 _A mermaid bathing,_ was the visual impression she gave as she cavorted in the water.

Keith wasn't even aware that he had sat down on an outcropping of rocks, his attention riveted on the woman in the glowing pool.

Her sigh's of pleasure echoed through the cave and Keith dug his fingers into legs at the memories that simple sound evoked.

He had, at one time, elicited the same noises from her but for far different reasons than having warm water splashed on cold skin.

His eyes tracked her every movement and he could have been a statue, for all that he moved...or even dared to breathe.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Notes:** I'm back! Update! Sorry for the delay please do not barbecue me for the lateness! As always, all grammatical mistakes and error are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Yeah, I'm a glutton. Love it? Hate it? Tell me all about it!

Chapter 18

"I am the dark

and I am the light.

I am the moon

and I am the starless

night sky.

Fall in love with

all that I am

or please,

do not fall

in love with me

at all."

-Christopher Poindexter

The water felt so good on her skin and Allura could not help but sigh with deep pleasure as the heat began chasing away some of the chill that seemed to have seeped into her bones. Her hair floated about her like some living creature and she gave it a mild frown.

 _It's getting so long,_ she thought as she combed her fingers through the wet mass, _I probably should consider cutting it...or at least a trim if nothing else._

Long hair, she knew, could be a weakness in battle and she had not quite forgotten that Lotor had managed to grab a handful of it before she could even react.

 _Speaking of hair, I need to wash it._

Allura began looking around for her container of cleansing sand...

...and realized with dawning horror that in her anger, she had left it up on the rocks.

With Keith.

She turned around slowly and swallowed hard as she saw Keith still sitting in the same spot, watching her with those unblinking eyes.

 _How long has he been watching me like that?_

She suddenly didn't feel quite so brave now about taunting Keith into coming with her while she bathed.

In fact, considering she was naked and could hardly leave the water to get her supplies, it seemed downright juvenile.

 _So much for maturity,_ she thought sourly.

"Keith," she called out, "I...umm, seem to have let my bathing supplies on the rock next to you. Can you toss it to me?"

Keith slid his eyes off of her long enough to look at the bag she had brought with her, before once more resting his heavy-lidded gaze on her wet form.

Before he could frame his reply, both froze as they heard the sound of voices coming from outside the cavern entrance.

Allura instinctively moved lower in the water and Keith was already on his feet, heading for the mouth of the cave.

"...should be right around here somewhere..."

"...are you sure we can do this..."

Keith reached the mouth of the cave just as Jeff, the leader of V-15 and an arusian female, came around the bend.

Both stopped suddenly upon seeing him at the entrance.

"Oh, hey Keith..." Called out Jeff, who looked distinctively uncomfortable, "I...uh, didn't expect to you out here so late."

The arusian female, Tamara he though, blushed a delicate shade of pink and averted her eyes from his.

Keith crossed his arms and leaned up against the cave wall.

"I'm entitled to a private bath, just like everyone else." His voice was mild, but his eyes watched them the way a leopard would watch a quivering rabbit suddenly stumbling into his path.

"What brings the two of you out so far? A bit late for sightseeing."

"Oh, uh," replied Jeff, rubbing the back of his neck, "Just..." he looked to his companion, who was still blushing but lent out a faint giggle and arched an eyebrow at him.

Jeff closed his eyes, wondering how much he was going to have to bribe Keith into forgetting this entire incident.

"I just wanted to show our guest how lovely our underground springs can be," replied the female who arched an eyebrow at Keith, "perhaps you would...like to join us?"

Jeff blinked, looking at her with something akin to shock. _Did she really just ask Keith to join us for what was suppose to be a private bath?_

"No thanks," replied Keith, his tone sounding bored and slightly irritated, "I don't really enjoy having an audience while I bathe." He jerked his head at the sign that was clearly marked red.

Which meant in use and not open for company.

"Oh."

Jeff made a strangled sound as his companion actually sounded disappointed at Keith's answer.

 _What am I? Leftovers?_

"Well then," she said in a bright voice, grabbing Jeff's hand, "we'll just go find another pool to use. Enjoy your bath Commander Kogane."

She turned and began tugging Jeff along the path when they heard a distinctive splash beyond the gave.

The woman froze and so did Jeff as she turned back around.

"Hmm, that's odd...I thought I heard something...like..."

"It was probably just the waterfall echoing off the cave." Keith replied smoothly, pinning her with his steely gaze.

She gave him a confused look. "Yes...I guess that's it."

 _That was no echo,_ Jeff thought and opened his mouth to make a retort, but then he realized Keith had gone utterly still and his eyes were shards of black eyes, without emotion...

….and Jeff decided that whatever was making the noise in the pool was not worth his life to cross Keith to find out the answer.

He was many things, but he wasn't stupid and he knew damn well that the Voltron Commander could quite easily put him in the ground and not think twice about it.

"Come on Tamara," Jeff cut in before the woman could try to second guess Keith, "like you said, there are plenty of other places we can use. Enjoy your bath Kogane."

He quickly grabbed Tamara by the wrist and practically dragged her away before she could even get two words out of her mouth.

Keith could still here Tamara protesting as they rounded the bend but he didn't leave his spot for another few minutes until he was absolutely certain that they weren't coming back.

"Keith?"

He noted the questioning tone of Allura's voice and gave her a tight, controlled smile.

"It seems that we weren't the only ones who thought a late night bath was a good idea."

"Who was out there?"

"Jeff and a woman by the name of Tamara."

"I see, Tamara has always been..." Allura began absently and then her brain suddenly caught up with Keith's earlier response, "...wait, what did you mean by 'we', I'm the only one bathing."

"Not anymore," he countered, beginning to strip off his outer jacket, "to get rid of the pair of them, I told them I was using the pool."

"Oh...but...but..."

"If I run into Jeff later," and he had a feeling he would considering the suspicious look he had seen in the other male's eyes, "then I should look the part."

He tossed his jacket on the rock he had previously vacated and was already stripping off the dark brown tee when Allura promptly spun around in the water, her movements make the waves lap gently on the shore.

"Just," her voice cracked and she hastily cleared her throat, "just don't forget the container, alright?"

An abrupt splash not to far from her body was his answer and she turned long enough to see the plastic container bobbing not too far from her body.

 _Breathe, just breathe. The pool is large enough that we can both use it without having to be on top of each other."_

Heat scalded her face as she realized her error in choice of words when a memory suddenly floated through her mind.

 _Keith above her, his arms braced on the side of her head, his bare chest a mottle of faint bruises but still so deliciously touchable that she had reached to stroke that sun-kissed skin..._

 _...black eyes that glittered with amusement and desire as he leaned down to nip at her exposed collarbone..._

Allura ducked under the water, trying to cool the heat radiating off of her body at the memory of her time with Keith on the _Explorer_.

 _Not helping, definitely_ not _helping._

Her lungs were starting to burn with the need for air and Allura quickly brought her head above the waterline, gasping in a breath.

"I wasn't aware the water was that deep."

Allura gasped again, hearing Keith's husky voice so very close to her now. She turned, her hair floating about around her and realized, as she blinked water out of her eyes that he was only mere meters from her current location.

 _When did he get in the water? I didn't hear anything..._

But the thought fell away as the faint lights flashed blue-black off of his water slicked hair. She watched, unaware, with avid eyes as droplets fell from the strands and made their way down his bare chest.

Clothed Keith was a bearable torment when they were close to each other but seeing him like this...the water gleaming off of his skin, the lights illuminating the hard, lean lines of his body...

….it was like a fever in her blood, a viscous agony to stop herself from crossing over to him.

To touch him. To _taste_ him, if only once more.

Her fingers clenched under the water and she belatedly remembered that he had spoken to her and was still waiting for her response.

"It's deep enough." she retorted, turning her back on him once more. It was her last, desperate attempt to reign in her chaotic response to his proximity.

Blindly she reached for the sand so she could finish her bath and end this torment, only to feel her fingers touch water-slick skin, instead of the plastic container.

She would have snatched her hand back, except Keith had already wrapped his hand around her wrist.

"Afraid to look at me now Allura?" there was a hint of darkness in that husky tone and she felt the muscles in his wrist pulled bow-string taunt, though the grip he had on her wasn't punishing.

She realized, with a startled thought, that his control was as precarious as her own.

A flicker of hope spread through her that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't as lost to her as she first imagined.

"Why should I be afraid?" she rejoined, her voice slightly acerbic, "I'm only in a pool of water, completely naked, with a male who is also _completely naked._ "

His laughter was soft and threaded with fire and shadows, that kissed along her exposed skin, making her shiver with the tactile sense of it.

"You've seen me naked before."

Allure blew out an exasperated breath. "Keith! I only saw the _top_ of you naked, this is _not_ the same thing!"

Allura twisted her wrist, and for once the water worked with her, and she slid her wrist neatly out of his grip.

Turning to face him, she splashed water at his face, making him instantly pull his arm up to block the spray from his eyes.

"Go...go over there and bathe! There is no reason to be so close."

"How will I wash your back if you're so far away?"

Scarlet heat flickered over her skin and she was _very_ grateful for the limited light in the cavern.

"I...ah, don't need help. I can wash myself." her words were breathless, giving lie to her earlier statement about wanting him far from her.

"I know you can, but I'm offering."

She stilled at the quiet, honesty in his offer. No play, no teasing.

 _He really means it._

Hadn't she just fantasized about touching him and now he was actually offering to touch her again?

"Why?" she asked quietly, once more turning her back to him.

She did not feel his shrug but she could sense with the slight ripple of the water.

"Why not?"

It was an infuriating response and one that left her fuming and unable to speak coherently for several seconds.

 _Answering a question with a question, just like a male!_

"I don't think," she began, then gasped as strong, male fingers slid around the nape of her neck.

"Then don't think," his voice was a caress against her ear, "just let me. Pull your hair away."

Her fingers were already on the sodden lengths before her brain caught up with the movement.

Heart beating in her chest as though it would escape her rib cage, Allura completed the motion, pulling the heavy mass into twin length that left her back exposed, but covered her breasts.

Reason and logic no longer gripped her mind, allowed no protests as to why they shouldn't be doing this.

Emotion, that fickle, elusive creature, now held sway.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Notes:** Update! Yes so soon, not a months wait, whatever is the world coming to? As always, all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone. Also, if you need a reminder, I strongly caution that if you are **not** 16 or older, this may be too mature for you. You have been warned.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Yeah, you know the drill. Cheers.

"I have a desire

for

every inch of you.

The smell of your

breath

on my

needing lips,

the taste of you

under the covers,

and your voice

rummaging

through every vein

in my body."

Anonymous

His finger, so strong and lean, were gentle upon her skin. She could not suppress the small sigh of pleasure as he found the knots in her shoulder and make quick work of loosening the tight muscles.

"Why do you have so many knots?"

The dark timbre of his voice, rich with shadows, seemed to echo in the cave, making her feel surrounded by him. Her eyes were already closed and when she answered, there was a lazy sensuality to her response.

"Oh, I've been giving riding lessons to Hawkins and a few of the V-15 members, they've never seen a _tuurvak_ before."

She was, of course, referring to the horse-like creatures that were native to Arus. Keith knew from experience that she was an accomplished rider.

"Who else?" His fingers were already sliding down to the blades of her shoulder bones.

"Mmm?" was her response and she sounded half-asleep at that.

 _That won't do at all,_ Keith thought as the slight current from the pool was slowly pulling her body away from him, relaxed as she was.

Allura's eyes opened in alarm as Keith's arm suddenly snaked around her wait, bring her hard up against his body.

His _naked_ body.

"Keith!" the strangled sound of her voice no longer sounded remotely sleepy.

"You were drifting," was his mild reply, his arm still firmly about her waist. "Now answer my question, who else were you teaching to ride?"

"I...that is...ah... _let go!_ "

She tried to wiggle away, but abruptly stopped when she felt Keith go utterly still and suddenly there was a hard pressure against her back.

Scarlet heat flooded her body at the contact. She was not as innocent as some might believe her to be and she knew that there was a distinctive difference between a male and female body.

She expected Keith to pull away from her, knowing she could feel the difference in him, _how can I not with him pressed so close against me,_ but was shocked when he simply tightened his hold around her waist and began pulling her with him as he swan closer to shore.

"K-Keith, what are you _doing_?"

Keith noted the slight trace of breathless panic in her voice and allowed himself a satisfied smile.

He didn't stop, nor did he answer, until the water just reached the hard planes of his stomach. Only then did he release his hold around her waist.

"The water is shallow here, so you can either stand or kneel, without me having to worry about you drifting away."

Allura realized that he was correct, but if she stood up the water would just barely cover her hips, let alone the rest of her.

"I can't stand up here!" she practically yelled, turning her head to glare at him, making certain that her hair covered the rest of her anatomy.

She sucked in a sharp breath at the lazy, yet focused, look in his obsidian eyes. It didn't help that his well honed body was on display for her eyes.

Through sheer force of will, Allura kept her gaze locked on his face alone.

He raised a wet eyebrow at her, a glimmer of a smirk around his lips.

"I did say you could kneel."

"I...I..."

Taking advantage of her sudden bewilderment, he moved swiftly through the water until he was once more right next to her.

Allura yelped out of sheer surprise and ended up floundering, ducking under the water long enough to come up sputtering, her long hair in disarray around her body.

She was still trying to get the water out of her eyes, mineral water stung like a bitch, when she felt Keith's arm once more go about her body, only this time she was facing him.

"Hold still," he told her, a soft purr in his voice, "otherwise you'll just lose your footing again."

She went motionless at the abrupt contact of her body against his. Except for a few skeins of her hair, there was nothing stopping her from feeling all of his smooth, hard muscles pressed up against her own lissome body.

He tilted her chin gently, making her realize she had ducked her head so he couldn't see the hot blush rushing across her face.

With a gentleness that nearly broke her heart anew, he brushed away the wet tendrils of her hair that blocked her vision.

"Better?" he asked softy, seemingly unconcerned that he had her wet, naked body pressed up intimately against his own.

Words failed her at that moment, azure eyes locking with dark onyx, as she stood there in his embrace.

Her lips parted and somehow it didn't surprise her when he simply tilted his head and claimed her lips for his own.

She sighed into his mouth as the tension simply spilled out of her.

 _Finally,_ she thought as her fingers found their way into his wet hair, her embarrassment about being naked around a distant memory.

His hand was already locked in hair, angling her head until it was all she could do to simply breathe.

He was burning her alive with his desire. It was madness. Utter, glorious madness.

She never wanted him to stop.

The fight on Earth...his hurtful actions, her cold words...all forgotten in that one heated rush.

He groaned into her open mouth and she pressed her body closer to his, the feel of his cool, silken skin against her heated one a delicious torment.

She gasped in shock when she was abruptly thrust away from his body.

"Damn it" Keith swore as he clenched his fists so tightly that the skin turned white, "this wasn't suppose to happen."

"Is this really so wrong?"

The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. But now having said them, she wasn't sorry about it.

In fact, seeing the startled, unguarded look on his face made her glad she had.

"Allura," he began, but stopped and closed his eyes. _Damn it, anything I say will either sound like an outright lie...or hypocritical._

 _I'm not going to apologize for kissing her,_ he opened his eyes and the sight still remained the same.

Allura with her long, honey colored hair just barely covering the lush curves of her naked form. Her eyes had darkened to indigo, a stark contrast against the ephemeral glow of skin, her mouth lush and ripe from his ardent attention.

Keith gritted his teeth and decided this 'bath' needed to come to an end and fast.

She saw his mouth tighten and knew, without a doubt, that he was about to walk away from her.

Again.

 _I don't think so. Not again._

"Keith." Her voice held a blade of sharpness to it that caught his attention immediately and when she saw his eyes dilate slightly, she gave a soft, beguiling smile.

He blinked, bemused, when she turned her back to him after calling out his name to once more get his attention.

"Allura I thin-" he began but stopped mid-word when she gathered her long fall of hair around one shoulder and sank to her knee's.

She turned her head to look at him, the fall of hair casting shadows about her face, so all he saw was flashing, indigo eyes and the curve of her soft lips.

"You promised to wash my back, remember?"

 _You did offer and I'm saying yes._

"Fine," replied Keith, swallowing with difficulty, "but afterwards-"

"I'll wash yours."

He halted, halfway moving to grab the bobbing container. He could only stare at her, but once more her eyes gave nothing away.

Just secrets and shadows.

"Done."

The words were out of his mouth and he felt a sliver of satisfaction at seeing her eyes widen in obvious surprise at his capitulation.

 _Maybe this bath doesn't need to end so quickly after all._


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note** : Update! Yeah, I'm making up for lost time. Hopefully you're still enjoying the story as much as I am! As always, all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone. Also, you've been warned about the **+16** rating, nothing has changed. If you are not mature enough, do not read.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Oh my gods I have so many reviews! Thank you, thank you so much for your time!

"Warm me

like sunlight

and soothe me

like rain.

Burn me

with passion

and steal away

the pain."

Tyler Knott Gregson

Once more his fingers were on her skin, only this time with a hint of lemon and delphinium. She bent her head, eyes closed and allowed him to touch her scarred skin.

"You never did tell me who else you were teaching to ride Allura."

His voice was modulated, so even that if Allura hadn't been on the receiving end of his voracious kiss, she would never have guessed on just how deeply he buried his passions.

She held back the sigh and just decided to thank the golden gods that at least he had decided to stay after.

Even if he was now treating this like a morning breakfast meeting, rather than two grown adults, alone and naked together.

 _So much for passion,_ she thought with a mixture of annoyance and disappointment.

"Allura?"

"What? Oh sorry Keith, my mind was just...wandering."

He didn't ask what she was thinking about, but he did stop scrubbing her back and she deducted that he wasn't going to continue unless she answered his questions.

"Besides Hawkins," she began and a slight smile tilted at the corners when his hands began moving again, "there was Ginger, Theo as well as Jeff...ouch!"

His hands had dug into her shoulder blades, where he had been scrubbing, when she mentioned the commander of V-15's name.

"Sorry about that."

"Honesty Keith," she started but immediately stopped when she felt the pads of his fingers trace one of her scars.

"I never realized how far down these went..."

His voice was soft, but there was no mistaking the undercurrents of anger as he continued to trace the lines down her back.

"It was a long time ago." She had long learned to deal with her scar's. They no longer defined her existence.

There was no anger in her voice, just acceptance.

It still pissed him off to think of Allura, a tiny little girl, stripped bare so some brute of a Drule guard could torture her.

 _If I ever find the bastard who did this to her,_ he thought as he continued to wash the delicate skin of her back, _I will show him exactly what it means to strip skin from bone._

It made him want to lay her on her stomach so he could kiss his way across her scars, to show her with his touch, that she was still desirable.

Still so very beautiful in his eyes.

He clenched his fist and forced himself to pull back.

"There, you should be clean."

The words came out clipped and hard. Anger and desire were at war within him and he did not trust himself to touch her any longer.

"Good. Your turn."

She was already rising to her feet, her hair thrown over her shoulder, shielding most of her body from his gaze.

He was already turning around before she could face him.

His control had snapped once already, he didn't think he could leash it a second time.

"Keith," a touch of laughter in her voice, chasing the threads of darkness from his thoughts "you need to kneel for me, you're too tall."

That hint of laughter had him turning his head, a tug at his lips as he caught her eyes dancing in the pale light.

"Is that so?"

Allura allowed a shard of delight to run through her upon hearing his voice no long so hard and angry.

 _He needs more laughter in his life,_ she thought as she flicked a spray of water at his face.

"Yes that's so, now eyes forward and kneel."

"If you insist." but he was already turning back around and simply sat down on the sandy bottom of the lake.

The water moved and rippled as she moved towards him and he startled for a second, feeling the temperate water on his head, rather than his body.

"Allura what," he began but quickly shut his eyes and mouth as water poured over him.

"I need to wash your hair, since you neglected it."

Her fingers moved through his scalp and his skin pebbled at the pleasure of her touch.

He couldn't remember the last time someone else had offered to scrub him.

She moved with methodical precision through his hair, and yet her touch wasn't impersonal.

Once more the water rippled and the heat against his back made him aware that Allura was right behind him, also kneeling.

"Lean back Keith, so I can rinse your hair." her voice was soft, hypnotic in the echo of the cave. "It's ok, I'm right here."

He didn't think twice about resisting her command and leaned back, only to feel her hands catch him from behind, gently washing the soap from his hair.

He opened his eyes, blinking as his vision adjusted...

...to see Allura leaning over him, the long strands of her hair floating about them. She was still covered, but a single stripe of skin that allowed him to glimpse parts of her collarbone and the inner swell of her breasts.

The look in her eyes made him feel as though she had been born just for him.

At that moment he couldn't decided if he was in heaven or hell.

His hand was already moving out of the water, tugging on a lock of hair to make her move closer to him.

She was practically bent in half before he stopped tugging on her hair.

"Yes?" she asked, her lips curving up into a mischievous smile that made his answer in return.

"Kiss me."

She blinked at his bald request. He had never asked her to kiss him before, normally he simply took what he wanted from her.

Raising a slender, golden eyebrow at him she leaned in even closer, until their noses were practically touching.

"Since you asked so nicely..." she murmured lightly before closing the distance and pressed her lips to his.

It was different she decided, kissing him upside down, but not unpleasant.

His mouth was soft and yielding under hers, coaxing her to take control. She marveled that he would allow her such control, and she revealed in the delight of his yielding.

He turned his head slightly and opened his mouth, startling her by slipping his tongue into her mouth, a gentle seduction that left her breathless and wanting more.

This was not the raging inferno from before, a madness of the moment.

No this was gentler, but deeper. A blissful seduction that sent a filmy haze over her mind until all she could feel was his mouth, her thoughts completely centered around his being.

She was the seducer and the seduced.

A world's aged passed before she was the one who broke away first. Her breathing was uneven and she was happy to note that so was his.

"Wow."

It was the only word she could coherently form at that moment.

"Wow...yeah, I'd say that's about right."

Keith noted that his hand was trembling. He never trembled for a woman, not even with his fiancee.

Yet that single kiss from Allura was all it took.

She had a slightly dazed look in her eyes and something hot and male felt very smug about that particular look.

"I...ah, need to finish washing you."

He moved smoothly up and out of the water and allowed Allura to continue to scrub his back, her touch soft yet sure.

Her fingers found a small scar on his lower left shoulder blade.

"Where did this come from?"

Her voice was hesitant, yet the trace of curiosity wasn't hidden at all.

" Knife to the back during a mission to retrieve some children from slavers."

"Oh!"

Keith suddenly had to brace his hands on his knee's when he felt the brush of her lips on that particular scar.

He blew out an unsteady breath when she removed her mouth from his body.

 _Warn a man when you're going to do something like that Allura._

It wasn't that he hadn't liked it, but hellfire, she threatened to steal the breath from his lungs.

Again her fingers moved over him and he found himself telling her about the various scars he had acquired over the years as a Marine.

Each scar had been stroked, kissed until he felt branded by her at the end of it.

"There, all clean."

He felt oddly bereft when she moved away from him.

He turned to see her walk out of the shallow waters. Water ran like silk from her lithe body, a Venus coming out of the sea for the first time.

She didn't look back, didn't stop moving until she had reached the rocks where she wrapped a towel around her slender body.

Only then did she turn, the towel covering just enough of her that he could still see the swell of breasts pushed against the fabric, the hem several inches above her knee's.

"You're not coming out? Surely your skin must be as wrinkled as mine." she shoved out a hand and indeed the pads of her fingers quite resembled that of a prune.

"I'd rather not shock you again," when she stared blankly at him, he gave a wry smile. "I didn't bring a towel with me."

Her eyes widened at the implication.

"Hmm," she replied a devilish twinkle in her eyes, "now isn't that a problem?"

Kieth let out a soft growl. "That wasn't nice Princess."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I was going to share my towel that I packed for my hair with you but if we're going back to 'princess', _commander,_ then I guess I can keep it for myself."

Keith was already on his feet and Allura found herself gaping as he was all of the sudden out of the shallows and moving swiftly towards her.

 _Wow,_ she thought again as her eyes moved over him. He was immensely beautiful, his body lethally honed. His chest she knew was well defined, the muscles in his arms could easily have snapped her spine twice over but she hadn't realized the tautness of his stomach or the sharp indentation of his hips...

….and quickly spun around, realizing that he was 'defined' in more than just one way.

 _I did not just do that,_ her skin felt like someone had pressed hot iron to it, _I wasn't staring...I wasn't, I was just...admiring..._

"I don't know whether to be flattered or annoyed by that charming blush of yours Allura."

"Here!" she kept her head turned away and thrust the second towel at the naked male behind. "Just...just tell me when you're covered."

"You can turn around."

Allura slowly turned, wary that Kieth might be angry with her for her...ah...admiring view of his body.

The white towel was wrapped around his hips and he was already reaching for his discarded shirt and pants.

 _Golden gods save me,_ Allura thought in her mind, _I think I actually prefer him_ without _his clothes on._

Just then he turned, as though sensing her thoughts and a blaze of heat scattered across her cheekbones and she clutched her towel closer to her body.

Keith gave a her a lazy look, one black winged eyebrow lifted in her directions.

"Quite the blush for a virgin to be having."

"I..that is...," she sputtered, "how do you know I'm a virgin?" she demanded instead.

Keith gave a low chuckle that made her body tighten, a painful reminder that she had been in very close proximity to him and shared more than one kiss that should have turned all the water in the cavern to steam.

Upon the heels of that thought, Keith was striding over to her, catching her chin in his hand.

"I'm not ashamed to say I've kissed a few women in my time," he explained, "and I can tell the difference between a virgin and a woman of experience."

Allura tugged her face out of his hand, well aware of their age difference.

"Fine, so I'm not as 'experienced' as you." she huffed out, going to where she had left her robe, "it's not like my life left me plenty of opportunities to get 'experience'."

"Are you angry?"

He sounded so bewildered that it rather took some the wind out of her sails.

"Angry? No...not so much as annoyed. I know that you've 'known' other women, but to hear you speak so casually about it..." she gave a shrug and left it that, turning once more away from.

Keith began to understand then that for all of her accomplishments, all of her maturity, she truly had no 'experience' when it came to men and therefore had no gauge to see how she measured against those of her own gender.

 _So how much of a bastard does that make me to find myself glad she has no 'experience' with the opposite sex._

Not that he would ever tell her that, he wasn't a complete idiot after all.

However...

"I'm sorry."

Allura paused, halfway from retrieving her folded up robe. "For what?"

There was more than a touch of wariness in her voice.

"For my unthinking words earlier. To be honest, there haven't been that many women." He too gave a shrug of his shoulders, "too much of a loner I guess."

"No need to apologize Keith, I know there is an age difference between us. I just...sometimes, like know, I can't help be forced to realize that my life hasn't been 'normal' by any standard. Had it been well...I suppose by now I would have had several suitors and a bit more 'experience' by now."

Keith let out a low growl at the thought of her being 'courted' by other men.

A soft giggled slipped past her lips before she slapped a hand over it.

Keith sent her a dour look, she shot him back an impish smile.

She also shivered at that moment.

"Get dressed," he ordered her, "before you catch a chill. We should get out this cavern before it gets too late as well."

"I would love to," she replied with a bite in her voice, "except where would you like me to dress."

The cave, of course, lacked privacy.

Keith merely looked at her.

This time it was Allura who growled out at him. "What? Should I strip before you?"

"Now there would be a sight."

Allura felt her mouth simply drop out of sheer shock from his words.

"Well," he replied with a slightly evil glint to his eyes, "you _did_ see me naked, if only for a moment."

 _He's baiting me,_ she thought as she snapped her mouth shut, _guess its payback for not turning around right away when he came out of the water. Probably thinks me too much the 'virgin' to strip for him._

"True," she replied a lightness in her voice that was very much feigned, even as her stomach tightened in anticipation, "there is that. I guess it's only fair."

Keith narrowed his eyes at her, not quite trusting if she was merely playing with him. "I," he began and stopped cold, as it was his turn to be taken aback by surprise.

Allura, who had been facing, simply grasped the folds of the towel and dropped it at her feet.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Notes:** Yes _another_ update! See this is what happens when I get more than five minutes to write! Also, just fair warning, this particular chapter is rather...mature. Definitely a **+16** rating for language and sexuality. As always, all grammatical errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** So, honest opinion here, too much? Not enough? I really do want to know.

"There's untamed electricity,

Coursing through his veins,

And it shocks you when _you_ kiss him,

but my _god_ it's worth the pain."

E.H

Allura could feel the blaze of heat across her skin but she refused to drop her gaze, but the blush was from nervousness, not any true embarrassment.

 _For the love of the old gods,_ she thought lifting her chin, _he's seen my scars, seen me with half my clothes off_ and _I just bathed naked with him, so its not like I've never been in a state of undress around him._

Too bad her logic was having no effect on her physical state.

He hadn't moved since she dropped the towel, instead his eyes had darkened until all she could see was reflecting pools of midnight in his gaze.

The stillness of his body, the tension that seemed to exude from his every pore...

….she didn't know whether to cross her arms over her breasts and pretend this was all a big joke...

….or simply crook a finger at him and tell him to just _do something_ already.

The waiting, the anticipation to see how he would react to her boldness, was sheer hell on her nerves.

 _The hell with it,_ she thought when he still stood there, doing _nothing_ and decided this was a mistake and made to reach for her robe.

She turned and suddenly he was _there_ , standing between her and the robe.

His sudden reaction, his _speed_ had her instinctively backing up a step.

A slight tilt of his lips noted her automatic response to his close proximity.

 _Good reflexes,_ he thought even as picked up her robe, his eyes never leaving her form, _but rather redundant given the situation._

She had moved into position so that the recess lighting cast natural shadows along the lush curves of her lissome form.

He would have had to been made of stone to not be moved by the sight of her nude, still glistening skin on display like a feast for his eyes.

But Keith was very much a flesh-and-blood male and her simple movement had snapped his momentarily paralysis when she had shocked the hell out of him by simply allowing him to look his fill of her.

"Where are you going?"

His voice was a honeyed purr, a predator enticing his prey to surrender and Allura shivered at the sexual pull in those simple words.

"I..I...was..." but his eyes traced the movements of her lips and the words died upon them.

"Cold?" he offered, taking a single step forward.

Eyes wide, mouth dry, she gave a tiny jerk of her head in assent.

He held up the robe. "Then come here and I'll help you put it on."

Allura jerked at the tangible caress of his words but that didn't stop her feet from moving forward until she was within touching distance of him.

"Turn around."

His voice was a low purr, making her stomach clench and her blood heat to startling degree in her veins.

She turned and nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt his hand slowly move up her spine and she clenched her teeth against her visceral reaction to his touch.

He was burning her one degree at a time as he leisurely pulled the long length of hair off of her back and over her shoulder.

"I wouldn't want to get your robe wet."

She inhaled sharply as his breath stirred the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. Each word, each touch seduced her senses until she could do nothing but tremble with anticipation for his next move.

The soft touch of cotton against her skin startled her, she had completely forgotten that she was suppose to be getting dressed.

Something akin to disappointment lanced through her at the loss of his touch...until she felt the heat of his hands though the thin barrier, moving across her body to settle the robe in place.

She gasped, head thrown back as the heat of his hands moved with deliberate slowness over the fullness of her breasts, her nipples hardening as he slid the edges of the robe together.

"You're still cold."

 _Cold?_ She thought through the haze in her mind, _I'm not cold, I'm burning._

"C-cold?" was all she could breathe out as his nimble fingers found the hard bead of her nipple against the thin fabric.

She whimpered as his fingers rubbed the sensitive nub, her fingers digging into the cotton.

"I need to warm you up, since it's my fault you're so cold."

His mouth found the slim column of her throat not protected by the robe and quickly fastened his mouth on the delicate skin.

"K-Keith!"

His name from her lips was a helpless plea against the torment of his hands, his mouth. Her arm reached up and she dug her nails into his neck, which only made him bite down on the sensitive point at her neck.

She shuddered, hard. Her body felt as though it were a spring being wound tighter and tighter.

His hand molded her breast beneath the fabric, his mouth fastened to her neck and there was no mistaking the distinctive hardness pressed against her back.

She whimpered at the delicious feel of that hardness.

She hadn't realized she was rubbing up against him until his hand bit down on her hip, stilling her movements.

"Allura," his voice was rough, a rasping darkness that only made want to rub against him some more, "don't...just let me..."

He angled her jaw so that she had to tilt her head and captured her mouth in a punishing kiss that had her straining in his grasp but he wouldn't allow her to turn around.

She made a frustrated, desperate needing sound into his mouth but he kept her pinned against his body.

It was killing him, reining in the urge to simply take her, to give relief to both of their bodies. Those little sounds of pleasure, the way she moved her body against in unabashed sensuality, all of it screamed at him to _take_ her.

To show her exactly how their bodies were made for pleasure.

 _Too fast, she's still a virgin. She could get pregnant._

Keith ripped his mouth away from hers and pulled her hands off of his neck.

"K-Keith? W-why...I don't..."

She sounded so bewildered, her voice so breathy that he nearly gave into the sexual pull between them...but then he remembered _why_ he had stopped.

"We. Have. To. Stop. Now."

Each word was grounded out between his teeth.

"I...I don't understand."

Too much hurt in her soft words and he wasn't so heartless a bastard to leave her like that.

He looked into her eyes, twin stars of sapphire surrounded by a tumble of golden waves with her robe parted around that Venus body of hers.

 _Fuck,_ he thought and though it felt as though his body was about to break, he forced himself to step back away from her.

"Allura, we can't do this. Not now."

"Why? Keith I don't..."

" _Fuck,_ " he grounded out, making her eyes widen at the savagery in his voice. He rarely swore and never at her, "do you _want_ me to get you pregnant?"

He saw her suck in a breath and pulled her robe tighter and he realized, belatedly, that he was going about this the wrong way.

Thrusting a hand through his hair, he forced himself to take a long, deep breath.

"You're still a virgin and though we're from separate planets our biology should be compatible enough that I could well get you pregnant the first time around."

He saw it then, the swirling mix of frustration and thwarted desire in her eyes give way to cold logic.

"I...see. Yes, you do have a point." Pulling her robe tight against her body, she bit her lip, a habit he noted she did when she was thinking hard about something.

"Right now getting pregnant is the last thing that needs to happen. My planet is too vulnerable to attack and we can't lose a single member to Voltron."

Keith clenched his fist. He was the one who had put a stop to it...so then why did it feel like his heart was being crushed beneath the weight of her words.

"Exactly," he forced a measure of calm into his voice, "so now is not a good time. You should get back to your room."

"Keith...is that the _only_ reason you stopped? Because of the risk of getting me pregnant...or because I'm still..."

He turned and saw the high blush, which he now knew crossed her entire body, and the uncertainty that belied her earlier confidence.

It was that hesitancy, the slight tremor in her voice, that allowed him to turn back around and stand in front of her.

He didn't trust himself to touch her, not yet, but he could do this much to alleviate her anxiety.

"I have no qualms with you being a virgin," he told her, the seriousness in his voice taking some of the fear out of her, "in fact, the truth is, I'm still in a bit of awe that you would go so far as to trust me with your body."

She made to move her hand to his face, but when she saw the stiffening of his body, she quickly realized her error.

 _He's still not in control,_ she thought and tucked her trembling fingers beneath each arm, _much like myself._

"Keith," her voice was lilting, a trace of longing still viable, "of course I trust you. You would never hurt me..." she stopped, gave a soft laugh and placed a hand on the small throb of pain from the love bite he had given her, "well perhaps not _never_ , but this at least, is a pain I rather enjoyed."

"Allura," a warning and ravenous need in that single word and again she felt her body tighten in remembered anticipation.

She cleared her throat and stepped lightly past him.

"Well at least this cleared up one matter."

The words were murmured softly but he still caught them and it caught hold of his curiosity.

"What matter is that?"

Gathering up her fallen bag she gave him a painful, but still amused smile. "You still want me."

"I never _stopped_ wanting you." he retorted, his eyes glittering like black diamonds.

She tilted her head to consider him and his words. "Considering how we parted on Earth..."

Once more he tunneled his fingers through his slightly damp hair, "Yeah about that..."

"Stop right there." she went so far as to place a finger against his lips and when he made to grab her, she danced out of his reach with a shake of her head.

"You were right, we should stop here. After everything...we both need time to rethink a few things. But, and I promise you, we _will_ finish this conversation."

Keith opened his mouth, about to respond but then changed the directions of his thinking.

"Agreed."


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Notes:** I'm baaaaaaack! Yes, yes I know I haven't updated in like...forever! So, so, so sorry! Hopefully this makes up for it! As always all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Oh my gods, I have **over** a hundred reviews! You guys are the absolute best! Keep them coming!

"Your shadow whispers

across my soul

warming the rain inside me

strange spring

-this dream

soft winds

steamy skies

You are my perfect secret"

Anonymous

 _I know he's around here somewhere,_ Allura thought she crossed the castle grounds, muttering for what seemed like the hundredth time on why the grounds had to be so large.

"I mean how hard can it be to find...ooh!"

Allura crashed into something hard and fell with a hard jostle to the ground.

"Ouch.." she muttered, rubbing her head, "what did I walk into?"

"Me."

Allura looked up and blinked, startled to hear Sven's brooding voice. "Sven! I...what are you doing out here?"

She narrowed her eyes and yet she still couldn't see him, even though she had just ran into him seconds ago.

"Sven? Where are you? Why can't I...oh!"

Her voice broke off as a shadow detached itself. Sven was dressed head to toe in his custom black, but on the shadow side of the castle, he was was well nigh invisible.

"A bit late for a stroll isn't it Allura?"

His voice sounded...odd, to her ears. Almost strained.

"I...couldn't sleep," she found herself explaining as she got to her feet, dusting the debris of grass and dirt from her clothing. "I thought a walk would help."

"Dressed like that?" he arched a sardonic eyebrow at her.

Allura gritted her teeth and refused to look away. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?" she asked and mentally winced as it came out far more defensive than she had intended.

Of all the men who were a part of Voltron, it was Sven she had the hardest time reading. It wasn't as though she didn't like the male, she did, but no matter what she tried he never seemed to let her in.

Sometimes, when she knew he thought she couldn't see him, she caught him starting at her.

She had never seen such a haunted, tortured look in that single glimpse.

She had wondered about it for some time but never truly had the time, or the courage, to ask him about it.

He was private person, Sven.

"A bit revealing, don't you think?"

Again that bland tone, yet it held a hint of hardness...and something else she could not identify.

Allura checked the impulse to cover the exposed flesh of her stomach and instead placed her hands on her hips.

"Not really," she replied, calling up a lightness to her voice she truly didn't feel, "summer is upon Arus and even the nights are balmy."

"I wasn't referring to the temperatures. Don't you normally cover yourself from head to toe like some damn nun in a church?"

Allura narrowed her eyes at him. "What concern is it to you how I dress?" her voice came out sharp and with more than a hint of suspicion.

Yes, it was a far cry from how she normally presented herself, but it was well into the dark hours and she hadn't exactly been planning to be seen by a lot of people.

She saw Sven's mouth tighten and watched as he took a deliberate step back. She instantly regretted her tone.

Despite his provocative words he had been reaching out to her in his own way...and she had rebuffed that overture.

"Fine," he snapped out, the anger harsh on his face, "you're right, it's not my business if the _princess_ wants to dress like a slut."

Allura's eyes widened at his unpleasant and wildly inappropriate words. She had no idea what the word 'slut' was, but from his manner of speech, it wasn't a compliment.

"Sven I..." she began, reaching out a hand but he slapped it away and brushed coldly by her.

"Excuse me, my _duty_ ," he spat out, _"_ is done for the night."

He stalked off into the woods without a backward glance and Allura could only stare at his retreating back, wondering why something felt so...wrong with him.

 _It's just stress,_ she thought as she slowly continued on her way across the grounds, _he's never been a sociable person and having all those V-15 members poking around must be getting to him._

 _He really didn't mean what he said._

She told herself this, but the hurt continued to smolder deep inside her heart. She thought of all the Voltron members as part of her family, albeit some in a different light.

 _Doesn't Sven feel the same?_

It was something, she decided, that she needed to speak to Keith about.

The curve of her lips turned upward at the thought of Keith.

 _A good thing I was looking for him to begin with._

Yes, a very good thing indeed.

"Ah ha, I _knew_ I would find you eventually."

Keith blinked hard at the familiar and feminine voice that came from behind the building he was currently standing next to.

"Allura?" Keith called out, confusion and wariness reflected in his voice. "What are y-..."

The question fell like ash on his tongue as Allura stepped out from behind the wall.

She was not dressed like he had seen her earlier in the day, covered from head to toe in her long sleeves and loose, flowing pants that had made him sweat just looking at her covered like that in this heat.

Instead she leaned up indolently against the side of the wall wearing nothing more than a tight, fuscia colored tee-shirt that left her arms completely bare and a pair of shorts that rode low enough on her hips that it left the flat, smooth planes of her stomach exposed to the balmy temperatures.

It didn't help that the tee-shirt, the dark color a wild contrast the pale beauty of her skin, was tight enough across her chest that he knew with one look she was definitely _not_ wearing anything beneath it.

He sucked in a hard breath as his eyes traveled down her body, more than enjoying the display of skin.

 _Were her legs always that long?_ He couldn't help himself as his eyes traveled past the hem of her cobalt shorts to where she had crossed her legs at the ankles, a pair of white flats the only cover for her feet.

Again his eyes traveled leisurely up her body, his mouth beginning to water as she now had her arms crossed under her breasts, plumping them up even more for his purview. Eventually his eyes rested once more on her face and he realized, with a sudden jolt, that she had been watching _him_ watching her.

Her lips were curved with the faint traces of amusement along with a more than a distinctive twinkle in her sapphire gaze.

She was well aware he had been gazing at her with more than just a little bit of lust in his eyes and combined with her more than obvious amusement and utter lack of embarrassment at catching him doing it had _him_ blushing and actually adverting his gaze.

"Uh," he began and when she had the audacity to giggle at him, he coughed and tried again to sound like he was actually a grown adult and not a greenhorn with his first crush. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm not allowed to walk my own grounds?"

Her voice sounded far too reasonable a response.

Keith chanced a look in her direction and could have groaned, whether in annoyance or embarrassment, he wasn't quite sure at that moment.

She was most definitely amused with him and more than that she had actually stepped away from the damn wall and he realized, as the moon silhouetted her lithe form, she had loosed her hair until it danced around her like a golden waterfall.

"That's not what I meant." he growled out, still unwilling to meet her eyes for more than a few seconds.

"I know," she replied, openly smiling at him now. "but I did say we would talk again...I just didn't expect you to deliberately go out of your way to avoid me for a week nor,"

"Hey I.." began Keith but she refused to let him get a word in edgewise.

"Nor did I," she continued ignoring his protests completely, "expect to have to chase you down to do so. But obviously I'm willing, because here I am."

She looked far too cheerful, Keith thought, bent over like that and looking up at him through those thick, curling eyelashes of hers.

"I...uh," his mind was a complete blank because the truth was, he _had_ been avoiding her. That...incident...in the bathing caves, that had gone farther than he had meant to take. He had been angry with her at first for her lack of her own personal safety and then for taunting him into following her to the bathing pool instead of just simply _telling_ him she wanted a bath.

He had wanted to get a bit of his own back at her and to remind her that it wasn't smart to play games of seduction with males older and more experienced that her, but then Jeff had shown up and all of his anger had dissipated until only desire remained behind.

However, now that his brain was no longer muddled with thwarted desire, he realized he had crossed a line with her he had never truly intended to step over.

"Hmmm?" she cocked her head to the side, the glint of hair slipping lovingly to one side, making his eyes follow the movement without even thinking about it.

"I...have to do maintenance rounds."

Keith could have bit his own tongue off at such a half-ass excuse. There was no way she was going to let up on this particular matter.

"Oh," she replied, suddenly straightening and that much closer to his proximity, "how _romantic_."

"Allura," he growled softly, then stopped as she suddenly slipped her hand into his.

"I'll walk the rounds with you and we can talk along the way."

Keith sighed...but that didn't stop him from wrapping his fingers around hers and tugging on her hand to lead her to the next checkpoint.

She matched his pace well, despite the height difference, and he found that now she was once again next to his side, he couldn't remember why he had been so damn determined to avoid being alone with her.

She felt so...natural, being there beside him.

As though he had missing something and it was finally found and returned to its proper spot.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note:** Update! Yes, I know its a little more speedy than my last ones. What can I say, never been one for predictability. As always all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!**

"he wears the smell of blood and death like perfume

there is fire in his eyes

and ice in his veins

but you love him anyway

for he is a star

burning with the light of a thousand suns

(and your world is dark without him)"

-Unknown

"So...umm, what did you want to talk about?" Keith asked after several moments of silence and though the silence was not uncomfortable, he felt that it was his place to start their 'conversation'.

"Actually," Allura bit her lip and let loose a soft sigh, "first I'd like to talk about...Sven."

" _Sven?_ "

His voice sounded strained even to his ears, a kind of numb shock. _She deliberately sought me out, wore clothing she knew would get my immediate attention and she wants to about_ Sven.

His eyes narrowed wondering why, of all time, she wanted to talk about another male.

With him. Holding her hand.

Which, as his fingers tightened, he wasn't letting go of anytime soon.

Allura gave him a sharp look.

He sighed, but didn't loosen his grip. "Alright. Sven. What do you want to discuss?"

"I...ah, ran into him earlier tonight. Literally, actually."

She gave him a rather sheepish look when he raised a winged, black eyebrow at her. "I was looking for you and I ran right into him. I never saw him, he was dressed all in black."

"Well he did run black ops for a while back on Earth," Keith mussed, "I guess some habits are harder to break than others."

"Mmm, perhaps..."

Keith gave her a sharp look. He had, over the many months, come to understand the small nuances of her voice. He knew when something was troubling her, like now."Allura? What's wrong?"

"I...its...maybe I'm just imagining things but does it seem to you that Sven is...different?"

"Different? How?"

"Oh, I don't know...When I talked to him earlier he seemed...agitated."

Again that piercing look from Keith. "Agitated? Sven? He's about as granite a man I've ever met. Not exactly one to put his emotions on display."

"Yes, I know..." but Allura shook her head in frustration. "Never mind. I think I'm just being sensitive to his words."

Keith was checking one of the relay sensors and paused halfway through the recaliberation process. "Words?" his voice was sharp and he was no longer the charming, blushing male who had gripped her hand when she had mentioned Sven's name.

Instead he was every inch the military commander and suddenly Allura wished she hadn't mentioned Sven, this was not going exactly as she had planned.

 _I would have thought by now we'd have at least shared a kiss. Me and my big mouth._

"He...ah, seemed surprised to see me walking about." She frowned at that, "which I don't understand since this is my home and I'm allowed to go where I want."

"Perhaps he was concerned for your safety. For a royal monarch you seem to have a certain lack for your own personal regard."

Allura gave him a sharp look, to which he returned a bland smile, and she knew he was deliberately needling her about her 'bath' the week prior.

She blew out a breath, "Head of state," she muttered darkly but then shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, you may have a point there."

Once again she shot him a suspicious look at the sudden glitter in his obsidian gaze. "I said _maybe_ Keith."

"I'll take what I can get out of you."

"Oh? And what's that suppose to mean?"

"That you don't like to give a lot of ground."

Keith stood up and brushed off some of the accumulated dirt onto his fatigues. Once more he was dressed in Earth military gear, standard black and green camo pants along with a tucked in rust colored tee-shirt that did nothing to hide his well-defined chest or the sinewy muscles of his arms.

He held out a hand to her. "Come on, we need to head to the next checkpoint."

A delighted smile upon her face as she slid her slender fingers once more into his calloused ones. "Sure. So, about Sven?"

Keith gave her a sideways look out of the corner of his eye. "You're not going to drop this are you?"

Allura shook her head, making her hair sway behind, the scent of flowers in the air. "Keith, I know what I saw...and heard. Something is bothering Sven but I just don't know what it is."

"Maybe he's bored."

"Bored?" she seemed so perplexed by his answer that he couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.

"Allura, Sven is a military man. All of us have just come back from a highly difficult mission while he's been planet bound."

"B-but he's been helping with security and getting the castle up and running! Surely doing all of that cannot be considered 'boring'."

"Perhaps, but Sven is not one to sit idly by while his comrades are in danger and that is exactly what I asked him to do on this last mission. He could simply just be getting restless. No offense to Arus, or your people, but there isn't a whole lot here for someone like Sven to do."

Allura had never thought about in that light, but seeing it from Keith's perspective had her thinking that perhaps that was it entirely.

But still...

"Can you talk to him about it then? I don't want Sven to feel...isolated, like he isn't valued. Because he is."

Keith gave her a startled look. "Sure, I mean I can...but I thought this would be something you would want take care of?"

But Allura simply shook her head...and gently laid her head on his shoulder, as though needing his strength. "I don't...think that Sven will talk to me...at least about this."

 _I am reminding him about something and whatever it is, it's painful for him._

Keith slipped his hand out of hers, only to wrap it around her waist. "Leave it to me," he told her, "I'll take care of it."

He was leaning down to kiss her hair when she lifted her head from his shoulder at that exact moment.

They were now scant inches from each other and Allura pulled in a soft breath. They were so close now she could have counted his every eyelash. She saw the way his eyes, like living shadows, dilated at her close proximity. She saw the slight flare of his nostrils, as though taking in her scent.

Her own breath shortened and she parted her lips in anticipation.

Keith abruptly jerked away from her, as though her touch had suddenly turned white hot. Before she could say anything, form a coherent sentence, he was already turning his back to her.

"We're...uh, here. I need to check the scanner."

Allura said nothing but folded her arms and gave his back a dour look.

 _This isn't over Keith, not by a long shot._

"So where is our next stop?"

Keith moved slowly back to his feet after the last test of the sensor. The entire time she had remained quiet, letting him work in peace and now he turned to give her a wary look, for she sounded far too levelheaded after he had jerked away from her when she had made it quite clear that she had wanted him to kiss her.

 _Hell, if I kiss her now, I'm not going to be able to stop._

Holding her hand, even wrapping his arm around her waist, was sheer hell to his senses.

It was something akin to starving and then being shown a feast and told he could only have a single nibble.

Still she hadn't yelled, or called him out on it. Instead she looked composed and ready to resume their walk as if their almost-kiss had never happened.

He found himself annoyed, rather than relieved, by her lack of response.

"The castle, I need to check in with Coran at the command room."

"Alright, lets go."

Keith blinked as she began walking away, not even bothering to wait to take his hand again.

 _Damn it, I knew she was mad._

"Allura? I have to go to the castle."

He hadn't moved and she tossed a look over her shoulder at him. "I know and if you don't pick up your feet, you'll be late for your check-in."

"But...you're still coming with me?" why the hell did his tongue feel so heavy, like he was wading through maple just to be able to speak?

Allura gave him an impish and slightly exasperated look. "Yes Keith, I'm coming with you. I did say I would walk your rounds with you, didn't I?"

"You did," his feet had finally started moving and was now just a step behind her, "but I would think...with the way your dressed..."

Her narrowed eyes had him back peddling real quick. "Just how am I 'dressed' Commander Kogane?"

Her voice held all of the warmth of an arctic glacier.

Keith swallowed hard and realized that his choice of words had somehow pissed her off to a whole different level of mad.

"What I meant is you don't normally like anyone seeing you like this."

He gave a nod to her exposed arms and legs.

"Oh!" The coldness in her eyes evaporated and he saw, to his surprise, the beginnings of a heated blush across her cheekbones. "Well...security is light in the castle due to additional members of V-15, so I doubt we'll run across anyone else except for Coran and he knows what I look like."

She sounded oddly flustered, which made him smile.

She caught that smile, huffed out a breath and began moving forward.

Keith followed, more than a bit bemused with her shifting moods, but still willing to walk rounds with her.

"You know Keith Kogane," she began as they entered the main foray and Keith mentally winced as she used both parts of his name, _that is never good with her,_ "you're a hard man to read."

 _Where is she going with this?_ Not that she wasn't right, he _was_ a hard man to read. He kept it that way for a reason, but he couldn't figure out where she was going with it.

For now he kept his mouth shut and allowed her to talk so that he could get some kind of semblance to her thought process so he could respond without making a complete ass out of himself.

"But I have spent quite a bit of time with you and I've learned to read you now."

That stopped him on the stairs they were currently descending.

"You have?" Despite his intent to not be caught off guard by her again, she had done just that.

Allura stopped several step ahead of him and turned to face him.

"I have. I can certainly attest to your _feelings_ at least."

A smoldering look, a soft tilt of the lips that gave a hint of the passionate woman who had been in his arms days ago.

His hands tightened on the railing and before he could do more than take a single step towards her the look was gone and replaced by one of profound confusion.

"But what I _don't_ understand is the, for lack of a better word, reluctance on your end."

Her voice softened and her eyes gazed at him as though she would look right into his soul.

"Surely you must know how I feel about you by now," again he saw the heightened color along her cheekbones, "as I have more than demonstrated my willingness."

"I know. I was there, remember?"

Not the response she had hoped for, but as he hadn't turned and run from her, she would take what she could get from him.

"Yes...so then, why? Is it," she hesitated and decided that now was not the time to back down, "still about what happened to your fiancee?"

Keith would have liked to have said yes, for it was still a scar upon his heart at losing Beverly before they even had a chance at a life together, but it was not the entire truth.

"I'd like to say yes, and a part of that is true...but it's not the entire truth."

"Then what is it?"

Keith sighed and held up a hand to her, as though he could physically show her the reason he was dragging his feet at wanting to be with her.

"Allura...I meant what I said on Earth. You may have renounced your title and call yourself 'Head of State' but the fact remains you _are_ royal. What am I? Just a misfit, an expatriate of Earth who had nothing to off-"

His words were effectively cut off when Allura moved toward him and placed a single finger on his lips. She stole his words, and his breath, with that one gesture.

"Shhh," she murmured, "don't say anything more. Is _that_ what this is all about? All that is holding you back?"

She removed her finger from his mouth and it was all he could do not to grab it back. Something must have flashed in his eyes because once more a hint of that playful, sensual woman was back in her eyes.

"Well I..." he began but she shook her head and continued her trek down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she held out her hand to him.

"Stop. Whatever you're going to say will have to wait until you hear what I have to say."

"Which is?" he asked, tucking her hand once more into his, though there were only a few meters from the commander center.

"After we finish your rounds, we're going to go somewhere _private,"_ his eyes flashed at her choice of word, _"_ and I'm going to sit you down and explain a few things about Arusian custom and cultures that neither you nor Commander Hawkins are aware of. Especially when it pertains to royalty."

Keith gave her a wary look but decided that he would hear her out.

"Fine I can listen," he acquiesced but still held the tones of skepticism, "but I don't see how..."

Whatever he was about to say was forgotten when realized that the commander center where Coran was suppose to be monitoring was far too quiet.

Even if Coran was the only person in there, the monitors should have been up and running and he should have been listening to the feed from them.

"Keith?"

Allura sounded confused when he suddenly stopped before checking in with Coran.

"Get behind me," he hissed out softly, letting go of her hand. "Something doesn't feel right. It's too quiet..."

Nodding, Allura followed his lead, their footfalls making no sound on the floors as they moved towards the opened doors that, by rights, should have been closed.

"CORAN!" Allura yelled when she saw the aged diplomat tied up to the chair at an unnatural angle that would exacerbate his already injured knee.

He had been pushed aside from the controls as two masked intruders worked the main panels and third companion was at another panel, one that Keith tagged as the new data archive.

Coran was still awake but gagged and wild-eyed look in his eyes did not help calm her sense of panic at seeing him trussed up like that.

"Sound the alarm!" Keith yelled to her as he rushed at the intruders. The alarm was set that it would sound through the entire castle, along with the Lion's holding center and the underground tunnels. They would have reinforcements within moments.

Allura slammed her fist against the red button on the wall and waited for the alarm to sound...only to be met by dead silence.

"Oh no," she whispered, "it's not working." She looked to Keith, who was already engaging the enemy, trying to buy her some time.

"Keith!" she screamed, "The entire security system has been _shut down!"_

 _Fuck,_ Keith thought as his fist connected with the jaw of his first opponent, _then this isn't some random attack on Arus. This was planned. But how and by whom?_

Those questions were going to have to wait, because the second guy was now coming at him as well.

Right now his main priority was protecting Allura and Arus.

"I don't know who the hell you guys are," Keith snarled as the first intruder recovered from his punch to the jaw, "but you've just bought yourself," he snapped out his hand and caught the other intruder by the wrist and back of the neck and swung him around to use him as a battering ram and slammed him into the second intruder, " a whole world of _hurt._ "

Both intruders fell into a heap but as soon as they went down, the side entrance opened up and two more came rushing through, hearing the commotion from within.

Keith's face settled into a tight mask and once more he snapped his hand out, using the momentum of the first one to dislocate his shoulder, making the enemy scream in pain, as he grabbed his right arm, thrusting it behind his back so that he would have to break his arm to free himself.

Pinned and unable to move, Keith reached around to remove his mask. "So let's take a look to see whose trying to sabotage us shall we?"

His voice promised a cold, hard death to the person behind the mask.

His victim squirmed but it was no use, his grip was like a vice and in seconds he had the mask yanked off and revealing dark blue skin, gray hair and pointed ears.

"Drules!" Keith spat out in disgust.

"B-burn in a coward's _hell_ you miserable human!" grunted the injured Drule, his yellow eyes flashing both pain and hatred from the human male who had subdued him so easily.

Keith spun, taking the captive Drule with him just as another tried to sneak up behind him. Keith snapped out his leg, taking the other Drule full in the face, sending him reeling away from him.

Keith slammed the other Drule's face into the console, a scream as his nose broke on the mental before knocking him unconscious for the time being.

Keith heard movement and turned just time to see Allura snapped out her palm, striking another masked Drule in the face the sound of bone crunching audible in the near silent room.

He caught her eye and he turned just as she did, sweeping their legs until they were fighting back-to-back. "So Zarkon's resorted to sending spies after us now."

Allura made a frustrated sound as she held her defensive stance, "Yes but _how_ did they get in here?"

Two more Drule were entering and Keith wondered if they hadn't brought an entire platoon with them.

One of them made the mistake of going after Allura, thinking that the lithesome arusian princess would be an easy target to take down.

Allura ducked under his wild swing, sweeping his legs out from beneath him before grabbing a hold of the front of his mask and slamming his head into the concrete ground.

"How did they know how to shut down our security?"

Again she turned, her fist making contact with masked Drule's throat, causing the male to rip of the mask, gagging and gasping for breath before she elbowed him the back of the neck, causing the unsuspecting Drule to fall instantly into unconsciousness.

"Don't worry," grunted Keith just as she turned to see him take out two Drule's simultaneously, "In a couple of minutes they'll be more than willing to tell us everything we want to know."

At that moment Allura could only admire his skill and speed.

Keith saw the admiring look in her eyes and for a flash of a second he sent her a smug smile of male appreciation.

They both turned to deal with the last intruder, the one still standing at the data archive when a punch of what felt like lightning slammed into the both of them.

A strangled sound of pain hissed out between Keith's lips as electricity arced through his entire body. "S-shit...what's..." but the words were cut off as his nerve endings began screaming with the overload.

"AHHH...s-stunner..." Allura gasped out as she tried to fight against the electricity, her suddenly the feed intensified and Allura screamed as she was thrown off her feet and landed with heavy thud onto the concrete floor.

Keith was equally thrown and landed not too far from where Allura lay, stunned but still awake.

"A...Allura?" Keith gritted out against the residue pain from being stunned.

Before she could answer another voice, muffled by the mask cut in.

"'How did we get in, you ask?' How could be bypass your precious security system' you wonder?' Well I'll tell you and be _happy_ to do so."

The tall figure strode to where they lay and Keith could barely move, his muscles felt like jelly. It was all he could do to lift his head.

The mask lifted and both Keith and Allura felt a ripple of shocked horror go through them as Sven's face was bared before their eyes.

"Sven!" they both shouted at the same time.

 _Sven...oh Sven what_ have _you done?_ Allura thought in horror as his face was not the face she had come to know. It was a mask of anger so great it bordered on madness, shaping and warping his features until he seemed not human, but a demon.

His eyes, twin black flames, focused completely on Allura.

"You shouldn't have _been_ here." he snarled at her and somehow she felt that all of this rage...this anger...was directed at _her._

"Sven!," snarled Keith, "what are you _doing_! They're _Drules,_ the enemy!"

Sven shot Keith a look so cold, it was as though Death wore his skin.

"Shut. Up. Keith."

He turned and quickly fire a succession of gun shots to ceiling, causing a hail of falling concrete and metal beams.

"Allura!"

Keith was already rolling, grabbing Allura and pulling her away from the falling metal and heavy debris until she practically lay beneath him, using his own body to shield her from harm.

Sven's eyes lingered on the way Keith's arms were wrapped around Allura's slim form, even both of them were now starting to recover from the stunner.

"You know," he sneered addressing them but only looking at Allura, "it speaks of little how _any_ of you really _know_ me. Of how any of you paid _attention_ ," again that cutting look directed at Allura, "to me that you didn't see this coming."

Something shifted in his eyes, madness laced with such sorrow that Allura felt tears gathering in her eyes in response to his obvious pain.

"I tried to be the nice guy, to play long." No emotion this time, only a dead flatness as if he were speaking this by rote, "but I just couldn't stomach it anymore. So it's over."

The other Drule's were starting to come around and those that were still unconscious were being dragged away by their brethren.

"Holgersson, time to go. Got what we needed."

It was one of the Drule's who spoke to Sven and he gave a nod of his head in acknowledgment.

Once more he turned back to his former teammates and this time he addressed Keith, not Allura.

"I've finally found me who _appreciate_ me, for what _I_ can do. For what I _am. They_ know the real me," again that sneer of contempt at Keith, "and now so will you."

He gave Allura one, last quelling look. "Guess now I know why you're dressed like a slut."

Keith hissed an angry breath, his eyes flashing murder just as Sven and the rest of Drule's disappeared.

Allura's arms were shaking as she tried to dislodge some of the metal spikes that were blocking her and Keith from going after them.

"I...I can't believe it...I can't..." she whispered the words over and over again, tears of pain and anger running down her face.

"Come on." Keith replied, his face a mask, his voice as emotionless as Sven's only moments ago. "We've got to alert the others to Sven's defection."


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:** Update! I know, an actual update! Seems like its been _forever_ since I last posted an update. Hopefully you are still loving this story as much as I am! Cheers.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Wow, I am over a hundred reviews! Oh my I guess this means you like my story after all...*blissful smile*

"Sinister thoughts follow me,

when I go to sleep

they crawl in my dreams

and I'm trapped in a nightmare,

unable to scream,

tormented by evil memories."

Christy Ann Martine

 _Sleep, I need to sleep._

One again she turned on the bed, trying to find some semblance of peace so that her mind would quiet and she could rest.

But sleep was hard coming as the memories from the previous days kept crowding into her mind and would not give her relief.

Allura pounded her pillow and closed her eyes and instantly regretted the act as the images spilled behind her eyelids, like a kaleidoscope.

 _"Sven, a traitor?" cried out Lance, his eyes wild and unbelieving. "Not possible! He saved our asses like a dozen times, why the hell would he betray us!"_

 _"Yeah!" exclaimed Pidge, "this has to be some sort of Drule trick...maybe a hologram to make us think it was Sven!"_

 _"No Pidge..." Allura told him, regret and pain in her eyes, "that was no hologram. It truly was Sven."_

 _"But...how? Why?" asked a very confused Hunk._

 _"I...I don't know," she replied looking at the imposing male, "He just...he was speaking words like how the Drules appreciated him," her voice broke and she looked away. "He was so angry."_

 _"_ Appreciate _him...the hell..." Lance muttered darkly and looked to Keith. "Hey I...what's that you're holding?"_

 _"This came off one the uniforms when I grabbed a drule working with Sven," Keith replied, his voice hard. In his gloved hand was small, golden insignia with strange markings on it._

 _"Kogane, give that to me," Hawkins replied and looked hard at the insignia. "I thought as much, this isn't the ninth kingdom symbol. Those Drule's don't belong to Zarkon."_

 _Everyone looked sharply at Hawkin and Allura could only stare at the earth commander in both shock and confusion. "If it isn't Zarkon...then who did Sven betray us to?"_

 _"I recognize those markings," Coran turned to Allura and gave her an unreadable look. "That is the seventh's emblem. Merla."_

 _Ice went through her body at the mention of the female drule. "Merla...as in Duchess Merla?"_

 _Hawkins shook his head at her. "Actually, that's_ Queen _Merla now. Thanks to Zarkon's ploy to thrust Arus back into the dark ages, you've missed a few things being isolated for so long."_

 _"Wait...you said Queen. But for a female drule to take leadership, she must first prove her worth..." replied Allura, pulling up a mental file on Drule hierarchy she had learned as a child._

 _"Right," agreed Hawkins but paused before giving the team the rest of the news. "She became queen two years ago when her powers manifested...she's a projecting telepath, her specialty is mind control."_

 _Both Keith and Allura frowned at the application of his words but their attention was diverted by Lance, Pidge and Hunk._

 _"A telepath! That explains it!" cried out Pidge, his young face animated, for once making him look like the young boy that he was._

 _"Has to be it," agreed Hunk, looking as optimistic as the other two, "no way Sven would sell us out."_

 _"Yeah," replied Lance, punching his fist into his hand. "That drule witch put the whammy on Sven! Once we free him, he'll come to his senses and fry that bitch's ass pronto!"_

 _"One moment McClain," Coran interrupted and Lance gave the aged diplomat his full attention. Coran never used last names unless he wanted their undivided attention._

 _"What is it Coran?" Lance asked, impatience coloring his voice, "We need to get out here, like ASAP and go rescue Sven!"_

 _"My point entirely. How do you propose to 'free' Holgersson, if he is indeed under the control of Queen Merla?"_

 _"Don't know I hadn't," began Lance hotly but then his brain caught up with Coran's words "...wait...what do you mean 'if he's under her control?'"_

 _Coran gave the young male a resigned, yet determined look. "As of right now all we have is speculation on whether or not Merla is controlling him. Barring his culpability and mental state, we have a bigger issue at hand."_

 _"Oh yeah," replied Lance his hands on his hips, his voice more than a little belligerent, "and what's more important than getting our_ friend _back?"_

 _Coran's voice cut like a keen blade, causing the pilot to step back and remember that, at one time, Coran was more than a diplomat, but a military combat instructor._

 _"Need I remind_ you _that Sven holds_ all _of our security measures for Arus?" Coran turned away from the brash pilot and spoke directly to Keith and Hawkins, "this is no longer an issue of a single life, but the life of an_ entire _planet. If Sven cannot be retrieved before he has had a sufficient amount of time to debrief the drule...then he must be eliminated."_

 _**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**_

Allura bolted upright in her bed when the chime in her room seemed to go off like a siren. She slammed her palm on the receiver.

"Y-yes?"

"Allura?" it was Pidge's voice, sounding worried, "are you alright?"

"Oh. Pidge. Yes, I'm fine. Is something wrong?"

"Keith...he wanted me to let you know we've found the next target."

 _Another relay hub to intercept. How many does this make now? Eight? Nine?_

"Acknowledged, I'm on my way now."

"Okay...ummm Allura...can I ask you something?" his voice sounded hushed and oddly young.

Allura paused just as she was about to turn of the comm, "Yes Pidge, you know you can ask me anything."

"Well...wanted I wanted to know...well not just me but the rest of the guys, you know because..."

"Pidge," Allura interrupted, albeit as gently as she could, "whatever it is you need to ask me, you had best do quickly before we need to get to the lions."

"Oh...yeah...ummm...did...you really agree...to with what Coran said? I mean about...killing Sven..."

 _Oh Pidge,_ thought Allura a tear in her heart at the crack in his voice, _it's times like this I forget how young you really are._

Allura closed her eyes, once more reliving the conversation that had taken place...

…. _"Wait...wait," cut in Pidge's young voice, a sense of panic in his eyes as he looked at Coran and then Keith, "sorry...but when you say 'eliminate'...you don't mean...kill, do you?"_

 _"No way!" shouted Lance, coming to stand directly in front of Keith, who had not challenged Coran's statement. He was soon joined by an equally furious Hunk and panic-stricken Pidge. "Keith tell them!" he pointed at Coran and Hawkins, "that we are_ not _going to kill our_ friend _in cold blood!"  
"Yeah," growled Hunk, "remember, Hawkins said this Merla had mind control! He doesn't know he's betraying us to the drule!"_

 _"Keith...please..." pleaded Pidge._

 _It was that moment Keith had looked to Allura, who had gazed back at him with heartbreak in her eyes...but she did not gainsay Coran on his decision._

 _For she knew, as a ruler of a planet, that not every decision that had to be made would be easy, or pleasant._

 _This was one of those times._

 _"Keith!" yelled Lance, balling up his fists. "You serious about this? Your our_ commander _say something! Or don't you_ care _what happens to Sven..." a manic gleam in his eyes now, "what...what if it was_ Allura _out there, being controlled!"_

 _"Lance..." began Allura, but Lance was not thinking clearly and his emotions had taken reign before he could curb his tongue._

 _"Would you put her down like a dog!" he screamed, "would you Keith!" His fists were held up as though he wanted nothing more than to get into a brawl with the Voltron commander._

 _"Guys," Keith replied, keeping his voice calm and holding up his hands to show he didn't want to fight, "I_ hear _you and we_ will _get Sven back. You're right he is our friend and we will retrieve...one way or another."_

 _When he was met with hostile looks from Hunk, Pidge and Lance, Keith lowered his hands and put a touch of ice-coated steel in his voice. "Now is_ not _the time to be arguing about this. Get to your Lions. The sooner we get going, the quicker we bring Sven home."_

 _He was met with looks of deepest loathing from the three males and he knew that this 'conversation' was far from over with..._

"Uh...Allura, you still there?"

"Yes, Pidge, I'm still here." Allura replied back softly, "the answer to your question is...I will do _everything_ in my power to bring Sven back to Arus, I promise you that."

"Oh. Ok."

The comm went dead and Allura leaned her head against the wall.

 _I know how much Sven means to the team, I know they don't want to believe he is a traitor...neither do I and I truly hope that this is nothing more than a ploy from Merla...but even so, if the damage is done..._

Allura gritted her teeth and pulled on her uniform. She could not walk that path, not yet. Not until she had exhausted every other effort had been made to retrieve Sven and make sure no other lives were ruined by the Drule's obsessive need for power.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note:** Update! Yep another one! Feast or famine with me, I know! Hopefully you are still enjoying the story even though it's _super_ long. I promise, I _will_ finish it. Eventually.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Many, many thanks to everyone who had taken the time to post a review! Your words fill me with inspiration.

"She says nothing at all, but simply stares upward

into the dark sky and watches, with sad eyes, the

slow dance of the infinite stars."

Neil Gaiman

Allura walked along the halls of the ship they had 'commandeered' for this mission and still she felt a chill go through her.

 _Never thought I would willingly go back onto a drule ship again._

Never mind that the ship was from the seventh kingdom and not the ninth. It still had the power to remind her of that endless journey she took as child to the Korrinoth...

 _None of that now,_ she told herself sternly locking away the silent screams of that small, terrified girl deep into the dark corner of her soul.

Her footfalls made no echo, no sound as she moved towards the cockpit. She didn't encounter another soul until the door slid with silent efficiency and she saw Keith at the helm.

 _As I thought, none of the others are here. Either by his order...or their own volition._

"Keith? Can I sit with you?"

"Sure Allura."

She frowned at the distance in his voice. She had a suspicion that if it had been one of the others, say Pidge or even Lance, his reply would have been the exact same way.

As she took the chair next to his she could not help but notice the small grooves around his eyes, the way his lips were pressed into a hard line and the white-knuckled grip on the chair's armrest.

Her gloved hand closed over his and though he did not jerk away, she felt his muscles coil beneath her touch.

"Keith," she said softly, "you're not still beating yourself up over this...are you?"

She was, of course, referring to the debate that had been hashed out on Arus before their abrupt departure.

"What makes you think that?"

He turned his head to look at her, his tone flat, his eyes like chipped ice.

She did not flinch at the hardness in his eyes, nor did she removed her hand from his.

Instead she met that hard gaze with her own understanding one. There was no judgment in her eyes, no accusation.

Just acceptance of what needed to be done.

It was that look that cracked the ice forming around his soul. He let out a long sigh and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

"It's just," he began and stopped but when Allura simply sat at his side, waiting as though she had no where else to be but there with him, he found his words, "if I was back on Earth if this was the Marine's, there would be no debate. If a man defects, he gets taken out. No questions asked."

"But?" she asked gently, knowing she needed to draw this out of him or it would fester like an untreated wound.

"But this isn't Earth, this is Arus and everything is...complicated. We weren't just some military unit on a mission, this was...is...personal. I just don't know..."

Her gloved hand squeezed the top of his and though they were both protected by the thick insulation, he could still feel her gentle warmth.

"What about you?" he asked, lifting his head to look at the beautiful woman. "Have you ever..."

"Had a similar situation?" she finished for him and when he nodded his head, she withdrew her hand from his and clasped them together and turned so that her profile was only the only thing facing him.

"Yes, about four years ago. We were forced to execute one of our own. I was only sixteen at the time."

"Allura..." Keith heard the surprise in his voice and something in his heart squeezed at her soft, clipped words.

She turned then and gave him a wan smile. "It's ok for you to ask. I do understand what this must be like, having to be forced to decide a fate of a friend...versus the fate of a people."

Keith swallowed and gave himself a mental shake. _No time to back down now Kogane, you asked the question, see it through._

"What happened?"

Allura crossed her arms over her chest and allowed her mind to wander back to the memory.

"One of our sector leaders had been hoarding all the food and supplies we had managed to scavenge and save on our few forays above ground. As you are aware our tunnel system is vast and with my people scattered, it was prudent that we set up sector leaders to make sure everyone was taken care of."

Her mouth curved into soft frown as the memories unfolded. "Deacon had been nothing more than a low-level guard. Not skilled enough for the ranks of the palace, he worked in one of the smaller towns that bordered the castle. But he had survived the purge and because he had military knowledge...I left it to Coran to choose the sector leaders."

There was something in her voice, a hint of rage that had Keith setting the auto pilot and turning his full attention to her.

"He did more than hoard supplies."

Allura gave him a hard, searching look and gave a short jerk of her head.

"Zarkon's forces wiped out most of our skilled guards. As you know Arus was a diplomatic planet, our focus was peace, not violence. We had little in the way of true warriors. So I'm sure it will come to no surprise that when Deacon decided that he would crown himself 'King' of his sector, there was no one strong enough to challenge him. All the people under him were elderly, children...and the surviving women who had not been captured for slaves."

Keith reached out gently and took her elbow, forcing her arms to unlock so that he could capture her hand.

"What did he do, Allura?" His voice was mild, he made sure of that as his gut and years of experience in the military giving him an idea of what was about to come out of her mouth.

She swallowed hard, but did not take back her hand. The warm strength of his hand on hers anchored her to the present and made it bearable to to tell him this dark tale.

"He had been...forcing the women to give him 'favors' in order to feed and cloth the children."

His grip tightened but there were no cries of outrage from him.

She gave him peculiar look and her returned her wan smile with one of his own. "Stories like this are not unknown on Earth. My days in the Marine's showed me much of humanities cruelties. Whatever you tell me will not shock me Allura."

She gave a short jerk of her head. "Yes. I suppose that's true. So, as I said, he was raping the women and forcing the children to go above ground to look for signs of Drules. The youngest was only four."

Her fingers clenched around his and her anger was palatable, even after the years had passed. "It was one of those children who managed to sneak away and find their way to the main tunnel where we held our meetings. Our supplies, at the time, were doled out once a month and food once a week. The child had come midway between the two meetings. It was lucky that one of Coran's men had been patrolling the area and took the child directly to Coran and myself."

"So Coran executed this Deacon?"

Coran being a military leader and with Allura only sixteen at the time, just barely a teenager, it made sense to Keith that he would be the one to terminate the man.

But her next words surprised him.

"No, I did. I ended his life myself."

Keith sucked in a sharp breath. "Allura, why? You were but a child..."

She turned and looked at him, allowing him to see the memories in her eyes, her strength of will.

"Because, even at sixteen, my people looked to me to be their leader. They had trusted us, _me,_ to keep them safe and instead one of our own brutalized the women and children on top of what they had already suffered. I could not look away and allow Coran to take this burden from me. If I was to truly lead my people, I knew I had to be able to take the good with the bad."

Keith could only stare at her, wondering how a girl of sixteen could have that much steel, that much strength of will to do what was necessary. To take a life, no matter how easy it may look, was not a small matter.

To take a life changed a person, as well he knew. He would not balk at killing someone, not if it meant saving the lives of those who were put in his care, but that did not mean he relished in spilling blood.

"Keith?"

He snapped out of his contemplation and realized he had fallen silent after she finished telling him her story.

There was worry in her luminous eyes and it was then Keith realized that she must believe that he was shocked to learn someone had died at her hands.

"I'm not shocked," he assured her and watched as some of the tension left her body, "I am angry that at sixteen you were forced into a decision that even grown adults would hesitate to enforce."

A delicate shrug of her shoulders. "Such is the way of war. You either crumble in the ruins, or rise above the ashes stronger for it."

Keith gave her a hint of a smile, the first he had felt in several hours. "I..." he began but was unable to continue when the com chimed and Pidge's voice came over the system.

"Commander, I mean Keith," Pidge said quickly, "that signal we picked up is closing in. ETA in about fifteen minutes."

"Acknowledged," Keith replied, his voice once more the cool assurance of a commanding officer, " began the cycle on the engines and prep the lions."

He turned to Allura, who was already on her feet and gave his shoulder a brief squeeze. "We will get through this and we _will_ bring back Sven. Alive."

He gave only a brief incline of his head to her words before turning off the auto pilot and going back to his duties.

 _Such is the weight of leader,_ she thought as her eyes lingered on his strong, silent profile, _to be willing to bear the burdens of others, even if those burdens cause you to cover yourself in darkness._

Allura watched with little pleasure as the Voltron Team took apart yet another Drule ship. All bore the electrical signature marking them as belonging to the seventh kingdom. Merla's people.

 _According to both Keith and Pidge with each ship we disable we can use their own computers to track Merla whom we believe Sven is with._

But each ship was only a single piece of the puzzle. The Drule queen was _very_ good at hiding where she had gone with Sven.

 _This last ship makes seventeen. Seventeen ships that, if we are caught, could be considered an act of war from Arus._

Her fingers tightened unconsciously as she once more walked the halls of their stolen ship. She had been searching for Keith, but he wasn't answering any of the hails nor was he in his assigned room.

She knew, for she had checked there first.

She was now making her way towards the cockpit, figuring he would once more be at the a helm.

But she stopped as she heard several voices from behind the door, none of them belonging to Keith.

"...we haven't killed anyone yet. That's got to count for something, I guess."

Allura knew the voice, it was Hunk.

"Yeah, sure. But you know, attacking seventeen Drule ships isn't going to look good for us either."

That voice belonged to Lance.

When Pidge didn't chime in, she assumed he was elsewhere, trying to decode the seventh kingdom's computer system.

She knew she should go in, say something to ease their minds but she hesitated.

 _What do I tell them? That this is our_ only _recourse to find Sven? To remind them that Hawkins can only let V-25 stand watch over Arus for thirty-six hours until they're pulled?_

Everything sounded like an excuse to her mind, but it was the truth. They had but thirty-six hours to find Sven before her planet was left defenseless and should the Drule's find out that it was Voltron attacking their people...

She shuddered at the repercussion that would fall, should she not be able to prove that Merla was behind all of this.

Again voices lifted and she once again hesitated, paused at the threshold of the doorway.

"...never thought I would get homesick for Earth..."

Allura felt her stomach tighten at his words, her heart like dead weight in her chest.

 _Does he regret coming to Arus and staying? I thought I knew the team, all of them, but have I only been seeing what I want to see? Do they resent Keith for his decision? Do they resent me as well?_

"...miss that for the both of us!" Lance threw out, once more the traces of the irreverent, cocky pilot that he was in his voice. "Nothing I want to ever go back to! Besides, you're forgetting one main thing in all of this."

"Oh," replied Hunk, a touch of curiosity in his usually quiet voice, "what's that?"

"Keith. He'll find a way out of this. He _always_ has a plan and knows what to do."

"True. There is that."

Allura felt the corners of her lips pull up in smile. The grip around her heart eased, if only a fraction.

Despite the arguments both males had made against Keith regarding Sven, they still had faith in him as a leader.

That was good enough for her.

Moving so that she didn't set off the motion sensor in the door, Allura left the two males alone, once more on the hunt for the erstwhile commander.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Notes:** Update! I know I'm like so far behind on my updates it's so very sad! Please be patient with me and **MANY** thanks to everyone who has stuck by me as I write my story! This is a rather short chapter, but I promise more to follow very soon! Again all grammatical errors are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Like it? Hate? I want to know and yes I read each and every review!

"What I want most,

is to know

what you hear

in the silence

between us."

William C. Hannan

"Keith where are you?" Allura muttered darkly as she walked through the halls. The ship wasn't _that_ big, surely she should have found him by now.

 _If he makes me page him through ships intercom, I am_ not _going to be amused._

Even in her own head her voice sounded snarly. Being on this ship was starting to get to her. Pidge had made mention that if he didn't crack the code they would have to hijack yet another Drule ship.

That would make ship eighteen, pushing them closer to being discovered by the drule supremacy, not to mention that they had only a limited amount of time before V-15 would be pulled from Arus.

Leaving her planet and her people defenseless. To say she was a bit on edge would have been an understatement.

"If I don't find him soon I'm going..." she fumed and then she stopped altogether. One of the cargo doors slid open as it sensed her presence, only to reveal a figure inside.

It was her erstwhile commander, naked from the waist up, going through what looked liked his earthian martial arts _kata_.

Except the fluidity of his movements suggested that he had somehow blended his native T'ai Chi and her own Kyros Dai to a single _kata_.

 _When did he do that?_ Her anger momentarily forgotten she moved closer to the opened door to watch his movements.

He was grace and power, bottled lightning given human form. She could not help but move a step forward, half in and half out of the room. She feared even that simple step would disturb him, but he was already moving into the second sequence seemingly unperturbed by her presence.

His eyes were closed as he worked through the _kata,_ the synchronicity of his body a living art and she took the opportunity to fill her gaze of him.

Though they had talked earlier, it still felt as though a lifetime had passed since their walk together on Arus.

Just the two of them, alone. Not talking about Zarkon or Lotor or even Voltron. Just them and their 'relationship' to each other.

 _Yet we never finished our discussion,_ she thought with a tinge of sadness and more than a little frustration. It seemed as though the universe was conspiring against them. All she had needed was a few more minutes, _or maybe a few hours_ , and it would been solved.

This endless waiting. Always it was 'until next time' or 'just a little longer' between them.

She still didn't know how he felt about her, _except_ he did feel something for her.

"Are you going to just stand there and watch me all night Allura?"

Heat bloomed on her cheeks, making her eyes widen. "Keith! I, that is..."

His gaze traveled to her direction, pinning her with those raven eyes and she lost whatever excuse she was about to come up with about watching him for so long. Instead she could only stand there, staring at him, her mouth forming the perfect little 'o' at being so blatantly caught staring at him.

Raising a black eyebrow he took the few steps to cross the room and cupped her chin in his hand. "Is there a reason you were looking for me?"

His voice was soft, a hypnotic blend of male authority with a touch of sensuality that made her breath catch at his nearness.

He hadn't touched her with such intimacy since before they learned of Sven's defection.

He brushed his thumb over lips, once more stealing the thoughts from her mind.

"Did you want to join me?"

Her eyes widened at the double edge words and she bit her lip, wanting to say yes and yet...something held her back.

"I...Keith..." she began, tilting her head up to meet his gaze...

….when she jumped away, as though burned, upon hearing Pidge's excited voice.

Allura quickly turned away from Keith, about to leave the hold when Pidge came rushing through the door.

"Keith! Are you here! I found it! I...oh! Hey Allura, what are you doing here?"

"I, that is..I meant to talk to Keith and he..." Allura knew she sounded like she was babbling, but Keith had pretty much killed her ability to speak coherently, at least until she got her breath back.

"Hey, what are you two talking about out there?" Keith called out and Allura turned just in time to see him pull his shirt over the defined planes of his stomach. Her eyes tracked his hands as he deftly tucked the materiel into the waistband of his flight suit.

He caught her watching him and there was a definite gleam to his dark eyes as he looked at her. Once more the color rose high on her face and she turned away from his eyes that saw too much. She had a sneaking suspicion he knew _exactly_ what that little display of skin had done to her and he had enjoyed her reaction.

 _Damn him,_ she thought as she kept her gaze firmly away from his, knowing he had won this round of words between them.

"...found him."

Allura's attention snapped back into place as she caught the tail end of Pidge's response to Keith's inquiry.

"Pidge...say that again." Allura asked and Pidge cocked his head but nodded all the same.

"I said I've found him, Sven. My program worked, we don't have to hijack any more ships. I know where Merla took him, they're on Caladran."

"Caladran?" Keith frowned. "That planet was deserted by the Drule years ago."  
At her confused look, he went on to explain, the intimacy between them gone once more. "Caladran was firmly marked as being in the borders of the Galactic Republic . Several years ago Garrison made a show of force to show the Supremacy that we would not tolerate Drule outposts inside our borders."

Keith turned back to Pidge. "You certain the readings are accurate?"

"I triple checked them Keith, there's no mistake." Pidge replied without even a hint of doubt in his voice.

 _Right,_ Keith thought, _this is Pidge we're talking about. Kids practically one with computers._ "Alright. What's our ETA?"

"At least another two, if not three hours. We're going to have to start evading the patrols if we want to catch the drule queen by surprise."

Keith gave a nod of his head. "Keep on this heading. Is there any way we can mask our engines so we don't give any kind of read out that we passed this way?"

Pidge furrowed his brow. "Yes, I think I can use the same sub-wave signals that the rest of Seventh Kingdom fleet uses. If it's noted in their ships log it should come up as nothing more than an echo."

"Good, do it. I'll let Lance and Hunk know our ETA so we can prep the Lions."

Pidge nodded and turned smartly on his heels, only remembering hours later, that Allura hadn't answered his question as to why she was with Keith, when he was suppose to have been alone.


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Update:** *deep breath* I'm baaaack! Yes, I know before I said that I would update a lot sooner than this. Please allow me to express my apologies for not being able to keep that promise until now. I have had some personal issues happen in my life that, at the time, left me little time to focus on my writing. Having said that, I hope that all my faithful readers who have truly enjoyed this story, will still stick with me until the end. I am continuing the story, I have not forgotten about our lovely Keith and Allura, but my updates may be sporadic at times. Thank you all for your support!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** I read **all** my reviews, the good and the bad. They are my light and my inspiration.

" I told her I was lost I this world,

and she smiled,

because she was too,

we were all lost somehow,

but we didn't care,

we had in the chaos,

found each other."

Atticus

"Allura?"

"In here Keith."

The commander of the Voltron Force frowned at the distance in her voice. He had not failed to notice the slight trembling in her hands when she had to touch the ship, the way she oh-so-slightly pulled her arms closer to her body when they walked down the halls.

He had seen people; men, women and children who had similar reactions when forced to go back to places that held nothing but echoing nightmares of war.

Allura was no different.

Except her nightmare was not a place, but an object.

He did not have to be a mind reader, or a psychologist, to know that being on the drule ship was having an effect on her.

Which was why he was here, looking in on her, instead of doing his pre-flight check on the Lions.

He found her on one of the few decks that had a window, allowing a view of the passing stars as they flew through space, much like a ship of old would have sailed the earthian sea's at nightfall.

She stood silhouetted by the window, the light of the passing stars and the recess lighting on the ship casting shadows about her.

The coloring of her uniform, that deep magenta, along with the gleaming gold of her bound hair, was a shocking contrast to the cold steel that surrounded her. Keith stood there, watching her profile, noting the haunted look in her gaze reflected in the tempered glass. Her arms, yet again, were crossed over her body, as though she were cold...or warding off something.

"What brought you up here?"

His kept his words soft, his tread light. She should be, by all rights, down with the lions getting ready for their assault on Merla but there was something about the way she stood so perfectly still...as though she were about to shatter...that made him disregard protocol.

"I...I wanted to see the stars. I like being up here, in space. I like the quiet and the peace."

"Something that's been sorely lacking these past few days." He couldn't keep the irony out of his words.

She turned and looked at him with such sadness that he was already crossing the distance, reaching out to touch her...and pulled up short when she backed away from him, shaking her head.

"No...don't."

"Allura what is it? Is is about our mission? Sven? Or...us?"

She gave a hard laugh that sounded more akin to a dry sob. The sound she made, it held no joy.

"Oh Keith...it's all of it. And none of it."

She turned away from him, shielding her face from his piercing gaze.

"I came up here to find a measure of peace...to tell myself that eventually all of this madness will end and we can go back to the way things were...but I'm fooling myself. _Nothing_ about this will ever be the same and the more I try to hold on, the more I feel as though everything is slipping away."

Keith gave her a hard look, one she couldn't see, then let out a soft growl and in that few seconds he was already grasping her waist, pulling her body into his strong arms.

Allura let out startled gasp and tried to move, but he had his arms wrapped around her waist and shoulders, and she could only turn her head.

"Allura listen to me, I know things seem chaotic right now there is no denying that, but it _will_ get better. You're not alone in this."

"I'm scared."

The words were barely above a whisper yet he heard them and it was like a punch in his gut to hear his utterly fearless princess say them.

"Talk to me. What are you scared of?"

"I can't shake this feeling that something is going to happen to the team. This feels...wrong, like there is more out there that we can't see."

She closed her eyes, frustrated that she could not articulate the feelings swirling inside of her. It was as though her skin was too tight, her head to full, to make sense of what was going on.

"Allura, we all know when we get into the Lions that we, all of us together, take a risk with our lives. It's part of being a soldier. You have seen war but you really haven't been in combat until just a few months ago, right?"

Reluctantly she nodded her head and Keith sighed loosening his hold on her so that he could turn her in his arms.

"We, all of us, feel like that right before we go into battle. That feeling of not knowing if we'll come back."

"But this isn't about being afraid of dying," she whispered, keeping her eyes closed, "this is about Sven. I don't know...what will happen when we find him. He was so angry with us. With me. I..."

"We'll deal with him when we find him," he told her, putting a touch of steel in his voice, "you need to stop torturing yourself over him. There was _nothing_ you could have done to see his betrayal."

"Perhaps but I..." Allura stopped, her thoughts scattering as she felt a sensation something akin to a whisper in the back of her mind, like the soft brush of a feather against her skin.

"Allura?"

She opened her eyes and Keith could only stare at her.

"Allura...you're,"

" _Commander! Keith come in!"_

Keith swore silently as Lance's voice roared over the com with urgency and Allura turned away from him, once more her face shielded from him.

"I'm here Lance, what is it?"

" _Pidge found the drule ship with Merla's signature on far side of Caladran. ETA in less than ten minutes before we're at the coordinates!"_

 _Damn,_ he thought, _we're out of time._

"Scramble the ship's signal as planned and get to the Lion's immediately. I'll be right behind you."

" _Got it! Over and out!"_

"Allura, it's time."

"I know." She turned and faced him, and he frowned. Whatever it was that he _thought_ he had seen...was gone. "Let's go."

 _Whatever it was I saw...I'll have to deal with it another time, right now I need to keep my mind focused on the problems before me._

He held out his hand to her. "Time to go get Sven back."

She took in a deep breath and closed her hand over his. "Right. Let's get to the Lion's and end this quickly so we can go home."

Keith gave her a ghost of a smile. "My sentiments exactly."


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note:** Ok, I know I said my updates were going to be sproadic, but once I got started, I just couldn't stop! Lol hopefully these few chapters will have been worth the wait. Yes, yes I know it's a long story! What can I say, I want to do it justice. As always, all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Yeah you know the drill. *grins*

Fang-spread

cycle

of syllables

cleaves

blood-sheltered

angles

of escape

because

promises

are

mirrors reversed

and

innocent images

always

dance

in the light

of lies

-Anonymous

As Pidge had predicted they came out of jump just on the far side of the planet, over an abandoned city call Caldera where two of Merla's ships had been located.

" _Alright, proceed with caution people,_ " Keith 'spoke' as everyone linked up into their respective Lion's, " _we don't know what's down there waiting for us or even if Sven is with them._ "

" _Hey no prob, O' worthy commander_ ," quipped Lance, " _if he's not there we just beat a few blue heads together to get the message across we're looking for Sven."_

Pidge and Hunk gave a snort of laughter and Allura allowed a small smile to come to her face.

Keith simply glared at Red Lion but kept his peace. There was no sense in chastising Lance over his less-than-serious manner. He had come to learn that was how Lance dealt with his stress and nerves.

" _On three. Three...Two...One...Now!_ "

The gates to the ship opened and the five Cat's were flying into space above the planet...

...only to see another ship, a sleeker model that had Keith narrowing his eyes at and Lance visibly drooling over her exterior, rising up through the atmosphere as though they had been waiting for their arrival. The ship looked as though it could only hold one, perhaps two, people at the most. He saw no visible weapons...but that could simply be part of the ships design to confuse its enemies.

 _"Pidge sensor reading's. Is it Merla's?"_

 _"I'm not sure...it's of drule origins but beyond that, I can't tell."_

Pidge sounded frustrated and a bit in awe of the craft. _"I think it has some kind of shield around it, making it impossible to a get a read off of it"_

 _Great,_ thought Keith, _one more surprise in store for us._

 _"Look alive people, I'm going to hail them and see what kind of response we get."_

There was no physical response but through their linked minds he was able to 'sense' their agreement to his words.

Keith took in a breath, _here we go,_ and hit the open hailing frequency.

"This is Commander Keith Kogane of the Voltron Force. We are searching for a human named Sven Holgersson, a known citizen of Arus. We have come in peace and have no desire for combat. If you know him or know of his whereabouts, please respond so that we may negotiate his return to us."

The response to his hail came swift and without warning. Shots, like streaks of lightning through space, tore through each of Lion's in precise hits.

" _Holy cats! What the hell hit us,"_ yelped out Lance, his breathing harsh to his own ears _, "my lion nearly went offline!"_

 _Which,_ thought Keith as he gritted his teeth against the shock of the attack, _should be impossible. No drule should be able to hit us so precisely...except..._

 _"_... _mine too,"_ answered Hunk, _"...gave us the granddaddy of all sucker punches!"_

 _"It's Sven. He's the one who hit us."_ His voice was cold, his words clipped. The shock of the attack had honed his anger to a white-hot edge.

" _Yes, you're right Keith,"_ Allura's voice this time, only instead of anger there was sense of profound sadness in her words, " _only he would know our weakness...and be that precise of a shot."_

Keith gritted his teeth against the heartache in her voice...but now was not the time to get emotional.

It was clear that Sven felt no such ties to them.

 _"Pidge, Lance, aim for their propulsion and weapons. Take them out as fast and hard. We can't afford to take another hit like the last one."_

" _Got it boss,"_ Pidge's voice pipped over, already moving into position as Lance lined up with him.

Their missiles fired, tracking systems on the mysterious ship only... " _The hell!"_ swore Lance as the ship dodged their missiles, time and time again, even by a hair's breath, " _who is flying that thing! Guy is a goddamn genius!"_

" _Too fast!"_ grunted Hunk, amazed by the ship and frustrated by it at the same time, " _That pilot just keeps dancing out of our reach and with those force field generators on it we won't be able to take it down...unless we go all out and destroy it."_

 _"Right,"_ Pidge agreed, his voice as grim as Hunk's, " _but if we don't bring it down...it's going to punch us full of holes again!"_

Keith sighed and felt his heart like a piece of lead in his chest. He knew, after seeing Sven on Arus the last time, that it was probably going to come down to this.

He just wished it hadn't come to this point. Steeling his spine and locking his emotions behind a cold mask, he addressed his team.

" _They won't answer our hails, so they're giving us no choice. Hit them hard, try to strip it like we did to the ones we interrogated."_

That order they knew, would leave the craft like so much space debris.

 _"But Keith,_ " Allura, her mind 'voice' awash with agony at his decision, " _if Sven is on board..."_

 _"We knew it might come to this,"_ he cut her off abruptly, his words ruthless, _"they're forcing our hands. It's them...or us."_

Allura, nor anyone else, could gainsay his words.

When no other objections came forth, Keith gripped the controls of his Cat. He knew what needed to be done.

 _I just hope the others forgive me...afterwards._

 _"Allura, Lance flank left, like before. Pidge, you and Hunk..."_

But his orders were cut off when a piercing light split the darkness of space and shined on all the cats like some giant sun.

 _"What the hell is this..."_ Keith muttered, turning to the light...only to realize it was a ship coming out of jump practically on top of that.

Not only was it a drule ship, it was easily five times bigger than the cat's themselves and nearly ten times bigger than the sleek ship that they had been engaged in.

" _New threat! New threat! Team scatter!"_ Keith shouted out, canceling his previous order's to flan Sven's ship.

" _Th-they came in cloaked!"_ Pidge stuttered out, fear making his mouth dry and his heart race, _"Keith! They're right on top of us!"_

Those were the last words he got out before the massive ship let loose eight other smaller, but no less deadly, ships that immediately opened fire on them. Once more the Voltron Force was under fire, only this time it was a relentless barrage of firepower.

 _"K-Keith..."_ Allura voice was a scream of agony, " _They're taking us...apart!"_ her words were drowned out as the minds of Pidge and Hunk screamed with mental pain. Lance, who had been closest to their weapons, was barely holding onto consciousness by sheer determination.

 _"The Lions can't take this kind of stress,"_ barked out Hunk through grunts of pain, " _we need Voltron, now!"_

" _Hunk...buddy...that's a grand plan,"_ groaned Lance through a split lip that he had bit through to keep awake, " _but they're...ugh...not giving us...argh...a chance!"_

 _"Keith..."_ Allura's mind whispered to Keith, who held onto her voice like a talisman against the pain, " _what...what do we do?"_

Keith, who at that moment was also wondering the same thing, got the shock of his life when the sleek ship that Sven was on, suddenly cut through the path of the missiles raining on the Lions and five of the eight drule ships were down.

"There," cut in a gravely voice that Keith had not expected to hear, " _that_ should buy you the time you need."

" _Sven!"_ Allura could not keep the shock, or the small embers of hope out of her voice, " _It_ is _you!"_

 _"Why help us now Sven?"_ Keith cut in, the words caustic enough that Allura flinched at the tone, " _You just_ attacked _us a minute ago, it makes little sense to help us now."_

"Because," and Allura could not hold in her gasp of recognition for this new voice, "That is Captain Yurak of the Fifth Kingdom, his is the _elite_ squadron and," continued Lotor with an equally caustic tone, "when he is done with all of you he _will_ turn on us. I am not so arrogant as to think that Sven and I can take on the entire battle group and survive."

 _"So you helped us out of self-preservation, is that my understanding?"_ Keith growled out. He didn't like knowing Lotor was there, but his response coincided with what he knew of the drule prince.

" _Don't_ question your good fortune, Kogane. Just make use of it."

" _The hell,"_ cut in Lance as Lotor cut the com link between them, " _don't tell me that Lotor...working with Sven?"_

It was clear from his bewilderment that he didn't want to believe it, but having heard both Sven and Lotor together, there was no denying the facts.

Sven was openly working with Lotor, a drule prince who had on several occasions not only tried to kidnap Allura, but eradicate Voltron in the process.

" _Yes, it would seem so Lance,"_ Keith replied, his voice grim but undeterred, " _however Lotor was right on one account, we have to act,_ now. _"_

 _"_ _ **Everyone,**_ _" Allura's voice cut through all of their minds, an echo of power that filled through all of them, "_ _ **focus..we need Voltron...NOW!**_ _"_

The Lion's cut through the debris of the drule ships, shooting past Yurak's battle ship, five shooting stars that fled high into space...

...Lightning raced through the sky and nothing Yurak had in his arsenal could stop the five Lions from joining into Voltron.

With a growl of incomprehensible rage at his futile effort to stop Voltron from forming, Yurak personally got on the com and hailed the ship that had stopped him from shooting the five pilots out of the atmosphere.

"Pilot of the unknown vessel," growled out Yurak, his anger a palatable thing, " _that_ was the Voltron Force you just let escape! You _must_ be drule so why did you defend them instead of helping _us_?"

"And hasten my own death, _captain_ Yurak," sneered Lotor, putting all of his contempt into the other drule's title, "do not take me for the fool."

Their venomous banter was cut short when all heads turned the sound the sky splitting open. In a thrice Voltron, in his complete form, had cut down the rest of Yurak's forces.

 _"Yes! Finally!"_ crowed Lance as the small fighter ships fell to their blade.

 _"Remember,"_ Keith reiterated to his team, _"we want Sven back...the rest, we don't hold back on. For any reason."_

Sven and Lotor watched the Voltron Force reduce Yurak's fleet to no more than space rubble.

"It won't take them long to finish off Yurak," Sven commented to Lotor, " and we want a _balanced_ front. Agreed?"

Lotor sighed, his cat-like eyes focused only on the blue section of Voltron. _Allura._

"Agreed. Let's level the playing field a bit."

As soon as Voltron showed them his back, Sven leveled his guns and with rapid succession managed to cut into the main part of black Lion.

Yurak did not hesitate to retaliate. "Gunner, hit them now while there's an opening!"

 _"_ _ **Keith!"**_ Allura screamed his name as she felt his pain ripple through her mind, and then her own screams began, tears flowing down her face as the rest of the Force's pain slammed into her mind.

 _"Hold...on...Allura..."_ Keith gritted out between clenched teeth as he felt Voltron go into free fall. " _Pidge...give me...control...now!"_

Keith grabbed his controls over the entire system and managed, with bare inches to spare, to pull Voltron out of its dive and avoid another blast from Yurak.

" _Pidge...how long before...we have enough power for the laser blades?"_

That last hit had depleted the power of the Blazing Sword, now they could only rely on secondary weapons.

Pidge's anxiety rippled through their mutual bond and his next words were of no comfort.

 _"Not sure Keith! Right now the best thing we have is evasive actions!"_

Keith gripped his controls waiting for the next volley, wondering just how much luck they had left to not get blasted by Yurak...or Sven.

 _"Uh...not to put a hex on us or anything...but why aren't we being blasted again?"_ Lance cut through, a tremor in his voice.

 _"I think I know."_ Keith pulled up the monitors in time to see Yurak's ship blasting away at Sven and Lotor's ship. It looked as though their ship was trying to get to a part of the planet that had been hit by several falling debris and missiles.

" _Pidge, we need those weapons, now while their distracted!"_

Allura closed her eyes and prayed to her gods. _'Please, gods of Arus though I am far from, here my prayers and grant us the strength we need.'_

 _"Keith! Do it now!"_

Allura opened her eyes to see the laser blades slice into the main hull of Yurak's ship, sending farther away from the planet's surface.

They had a reprieve, for the moment.

 _"Status Pidge?"_ Keith asked the youngest member of their team.

 _"We're in the black...for now,"_ he muttered, sounding utterly drained _, "don't know how much more we can take though."_

 _"_ _ **Good enough,"**_ _Allura told the team, her voice like shards of ice. She was well and truly pissed off at this point, "_ _ **Let's finish this and take Sven back now."**_

 _"Hear, hear."_ muttered Hunk in his quiet voice.

At that moment the planet which had been below them, gave off a blast that sounded like a roar and the blackness of space suddenly swirled in colors of deepest amethyst, turquoise and gold. The planet was engulfed in a giant, purple beam that shot to the heavens.

" _What...What the hell is that!"_ Keith shouted over the com, suddenly have a very bad feeling that light was giving off. _"Pidge, report!"_

 _"It's...I don't know what it is but its giving off massive amounts of radiation! Don't get too close to it!"_

" _Sven! Lotor, what is that!"_ Keith called on the open com, hoping for once, that Lotor knew what the hell was going.

Lotor did, in fact, know what was going on and it made his blood run cold.

"Oh no, oh no she wouldn't!" he yelled, abruptly pulling the ship from the amethyst beam.

"Lotor!" yelled back Sven, his calm facade gone, "what the hell is that!"

"That Sven, is a jump gate opened by Hagar," Lotor swallowed hard, "and her gates only lead to one place."

"Fuck. That doesn't sound good...where, exactly, does it lead."

Lotor closed his eyes, "The Robeast pen world. She has opened the door for them to come through."

His words proved to be prophetic for within a matter of moments, five Robeasts stepped through the open jump gate.

" _Holy...Cats,"_ swallowed Lance, " _we're in deep ship now."  
_


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note:** One more update! Only this time it's a little shorter, sorry! Hopefully everyone is still enjoying the show...err...story! As always all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply live in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Like it? Hate it? Tell me all about it!

"Until we have seen someone's

darkness we don't really

know who they are. Until we

have forgiven someone's

darkness, we don't really

know what love is."

Marianne Williamson

 _Oh gods...please tell me I am having another nightmare, surely there can't be..._

" _Oh God,"_ whispered Hunk, the fear in his voice a tangible thing that jolted Allura out of her spiraling thoughts " _there's..._ five _of them..."_

 _"_ Lotor," it was Sven's voice on the open com, not bothering to care than anyone on the same frequency could hear him, "you...do you recognize those...things?"

Those 'things' being the massive Robeasts that had just passed through the jump gate. Two of them looked vaguely animal shaped with massive horns, like an earth deer, with elongated limbs and bodies.

One was the color of deep navy, with eyes like a giant bug and the other a dark, red wine with a face like a skull. The red one though, was peculiar in a way for its back looked liked someone had stuck several oval mirrors onto it that were pulsating with a sickly, yellowish light.

Another looked like a massive bull, complete with curled horns on each side of its head and wicked looking spines along its back.

The fourth had neither face, nor features, but was covered in purple scales and large, thick arms and legs like that of tree.

The fifth was nearly three times as bigger as his companions with a reptile head, yet it seemed to be equipped with a cannon that lined up with its head.

"Lotor?" repeated Sven after several seconds of silence on the com.

"Hm," Lotor muttered as he had been studying the Robeats, "I _think_ so. Haggar said she was working on to improve them," his words were clipped, his disgust apparent, "I just didn't know they would like...that."

At that moment, two of the Robeasts opened fire on all the ships.

" _ **Incoming ordnance,"**_ Allura called out on the hailing frequencies, " _ **and plenty of them!"**_

" _Evasive actions, immediately!"_ Keith responded as Voltron quickly dodged the barrage of lasers coming from the Robeasts.

 _"Huh, would you look at that,"_ Lance remarked as they dodged yet another volley, " _looks like they're after Yurak's cruiser as well. Might not be a bad thing after all..."_

Said cruiser had taken a direct hit to their left flank, and though still operational, it was showing signs of damage.

"Voltron Force, this is Captain Yurak of the Fifth Kingdom. Let me be clear, I have no time for protocol. We need to destroy these monsters, together. They are the greater threat than either one of us."

There was anger in his words, a sneer of disdain as if working with humans was beneath him.

Keith wasn't buying it.

" _A minute ago we were at each others throats,"_ Keith responded, his words arctic, _"give me_ one _good reason why I should trust you?"_

"I can do that Commander Kogane," Lotor cut in before Yurak could respond, his voice smug...and also resigned, "one of those...creatures, is pouring out enough radiation to affect our jump drives."

 _Damn it,_ thought Keith with growing frustration, _in other words..._

 _"None_ of us are going anywhere until that thing is destroyed," Lotor completed, "I trust that is reason enough to cooperate?"

 _"Hunk?"_ Keith called out to Hunk, wanting to confirm Lotor's theory.

" _Pointy-eared bastard is right Keith,"_ Hunk replied, his voice just above a growl, " _Voltron is shielding us from the radiation...but I don't know for how much longer, or what long-term exposure will do to us."_

 _"Fine,"_ Keith gritted out between his teeth, seeing as he had no choice but to work with the drule's, " _Captain Yurak, Lotor, a truce for now. Open fire and form Blazing Sword."_

The drule's were quick to turn their guns upon the beasts. Everyone was focused on defeating the Robeasts.

Except for one.

" _ **Sven,"**_ Allura reached out both with her mind and the com to speak to their erstwhile companion. She couldn't understand it, here in the midst of battle, there was a sensation in the back of her mind, whispering to her that she needed to reach out to Sven _now._ " **Sven can you...hear me? It's Allura.** "

There was only silence but she didn't care, she pressed on knowing somewhere deep inside of her soul, he was out there, listening to her words.

 _ **"Sven...listen to me, it doesn't matter what you have done...or what you said. We just want you to come home,"**_

Again silence met her words and she felt something breaking inside of her...a pain that was her own...yet not. _**"Please, we are your family**_. _ **"**_ again silence was her only reply and she could help the words she whispered out, her pain apparent to all who could hear, " _ **Please...if you can**_ _hear_ _ **me, say something. Anything."**_

"I hear you, _princess._ " Sven answered the golden-haired woman, his words nothing more than furious rage, "but it _does_ matter and let me make this perfectly clear, _you_ are NOT family. You never were. Now do us all a fucking favor and _shut the hell up_ and concentrate on the Robeasts."

Allura reeled from his words as though she had been verbally slapped by the older male. Tears gathered in her eyes, but they refused to fall.

 _"H-how can he...talk to her like that?"_ Pidge whispered, an ache in his voice. Allura had done _everything_ in her power to make them feel welcome on Arus. Pidge knew that there would never be anywhere else in the world he would call 'home' except for Arus.

 _"I hear you Pidge,"_ responded Lance, an edge to his words, " _and you know...maybe that freak witch Merla is doing the mind control on him...or maybe she's not. Either way I say we take Sven back...in one piece or_ not. _Nobody talks to Allura that way. Not on my watch."_

Yurak, who had overheard the entire exchange, would not pass up this opportunity of a lifetime.

"Analysis of that broadcast?"

"Ninety-seven percent accurate. Transmission coming from the blue section of Voltron. It's Princess Allura of Arus."

A cruel smile formed on his scarred face. "Perfect. Gunner lock cannons three and five on the blue lion and...fire!"

 _"Allura, don't."_ Keith was talking with her mind-to-mind, their conversation strictly between the two of them, _"he's made himself clear on the situation."_

 _"_ _ **Keith, I just can't give..."**_

Whatever she was about to say to him was gone when she began screaming as her Lion came under fire and the circuits she was mentally integrated with, suddenly short-circuited.

 _"ALLURA! ALLURA!"_ At that moment Keith didn't care who could hear him, because Allura was no longer a presence in the back of his mind. There was a hollow feeling where the golden warmth of her energy should have been.

She was gone from the entire collective mind of Voltron.


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note:** Update! Yes it's not a month later! I told you it was going to be sporadic. Well hopefully this makes up for that 'evil' cliffhanger. As always all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Thanks to everyone who stops and leaves me a review. Truly they are my inspiration to keep on writing!

"I am alone here in

my own mind. There

is no map, and

there is no road."

Anne Sexton

It was a feeling that brought her back to wakefulness. Not thought, or logic, but emotion. It was a feeling of weightlessness, of peace. As though she were floating through warm waters or a gentle breeze.

She opened her eyes to a world of white. _Which is strange,_ she thought, _because I am in space and space is darkness, not light._

"Where am I?"

She was startled by the sound of her own voice. It seemed to echo upon itself as though a thousand other voices were asking the question.

It was all very disconcerting and her feelings of peace abruptly vanished.

"H-hello?"

She was hesitant at speaking, but somehow she felt she was not alone here, in this white world.

 _"Opat! Opat over here!"_

Allura turned at the sound of a young girl's voice calling out. She was speaking with a strange accent...one that reminded her strongly of Sven's.

Allura saw, in the white landscape, the young girl in the distance.

 _Is that...me?_

For a moment Allura could only stare in shock at this young girl who resembled her younger self...was she stuck in some kind of a dream of her younger days?

She was a child, no more than nine, with long unbound blonde hair and startling pale blue eyes. She wore a pale top covered in flowers and a flowing white skirt with lace on the edges. She wasn't wearing any shoes.

As Allura studied the girl, she realized it wasn't her. This child bore a resemblance to her but upon closer inspection, it was not an exact replication. Her hair was a paler shade of blonde, not the deep gold color like hers and completely straight, not the soft wave as hers often did. Her eyes were also a different shade of blue, more pale, like snow reflected on water.

 _"Opat where are you?"_ the young girl demanded, but there was laughter in her voice. Allura moved forward...and realized that she wasn't in a dream...but a memory.

One that was not her own.

"Oh gods," she whispered as another figure moved toward the young girl. He was older than the girl, at least thirteen, with a good several inches taller. He was dressed in a dark blue shirt and black pants. His black hair was cut very short and there was no mistaking those dark eyes.

It was Sven, as a young teenage boy.

 _"I'm here cectpa. You should not have run off without me."_

He glowered at the girl, but was already reaching out to tousle her long hair with obvious affection.

 _"You were taking too long!"_ the girl laughed and stuck her tongue out at him, _"come on, I want to have our picnic! You promised!"_

 _"Da, what a demanding sister I have."_ The young Sven gave what appeared to be an aggravated sigh, but winked at the child and offered his arm to her. _"Come then, we shall have our picnic. But only for you, Stasya."_

"I'm in Sven's memory...but why?"

 **Observe and you will understand**

Allura turned...and suddenly knew what was happening.

"No...no it's too soon! I'm not ready..."

 **It is time**

"Please I need..."

 _"...Allura! Please you_ have _to wake up! Allura answer me!"_

It was Keith's voice, inside her mind. She had never heard him say her name with such frantic need. It was as close to panic as she had ever heard from the stalwart commander.

His voice, so desperate to reach her, snapped her mind back into her body.

She no longer felt as though she were floating, lost in the white world. She felt heavy and she was awash in physical sensation once more.

Her body felt battered, her mind bruised. It physically hurt to move her head and she groaned when she realized the straps had cut into her body, stopping her from tumbling from the cockpit when she had been attacked.

 _ **"Oooh,"**_ she moaned as she lifted an arm to feel her face. Something warm and wet was trickling down her mouth...her gloved hands came away stained with crimson and it was then she realized she had been bleeding from her nose.

 _"Allura!"_

It was Keith, once more his dark mind surrounding hers with a buffer of protectiveness that left her reeling.

Her mind was completely open to his and she felt everything he was feeling.

Panic at the thought he had lost her when he couldn't touch her mind, unbridled rage at Yurak for harming her. The cold, calculating logic that had allowed him to take complete control of Voltron and not only destroy Yurak's ship but two Robeast in the process.

Unalloyed relief that warred with possessive tenderness when he felt her mind touch his once more.

 _ **"Keith..."**_

She could only say his name, still trying to acclimate herself that she was _here_ in the cockpit of blue lion, fighting the drule's Robeasts, and not, impossibly, in the memories of Sven's mind.

 _"Thank God you're awake, are you_ alright?"

That was the question wasn't it? She didn't _feel_ alright.

She felt confused...as though there was something else she needed to remember, but couldn't.

 _ **"I...I think so,"**_ _maybe it wasn't just me..._ _ **"Did...ah, anyone else see that?"**_

 _"See what?"_ Lance demanded, concerned at how shaky she sounded, _"The only thing I saw was Keith handing Yurak his ass for breaking our truce!"_

 _ **"I'm not really...sure,"**_ _if the others didn't see what I saw...then perhaps it really was just a dream..._ _ **"never mind, forget it. How long was I out?"**_

 _"Only a few minutes,"_ Keith informed her, his relief at having her back apparent. _"I know you're still groggy from the attack, but we need you."_

 _ **"I...understand. How many Robeasts are still out there?"**_

 _"Just that fugly one pouring out the radiation,"_ quipped Lance, masking his concern for Allura with a joke, " _once he's gone we can blow this popsicle stand."_

Keith had turned his attention away from the team and focused on another threat that was still out there.

Sven and Lotor were still in their ship and keeping their distance from Voltron.

They had been doing that ever since they sent Yurak's ship crashing into the planet and tore the larger of the two Robeasts practically in two.

He was done playing around with all of them and he was about to make certain that they knew it.

He opened the com frequencies and hailed the remaining drule ship. " _Sven, Lotor. I know you can hear me, so listen_ _up_. _Was that enough or do I need to_ convince _the two of you as well?"_

The hard chill coming from his voice made several of his team members flinch but they did not interrupt his transmission.

Lotor took a deep breath and answered the hail. Whatever was going on with Sven...it was best, Lotor thought, that he have little contact with his former teammates.

He would, he decided, have to teach Sven a lesson on how to address a princess with proper respect at a later time.

Considering said princess was going to be his future queen and wife.

"Kogane, I think we can continue to cooperate until this creature is dealt with," Lotor replied, putting a touch of boredom in his voice, as though this entire scenario was tedious to him.

It wouldn't bode well if the human commander thought he had the upper hand.

"Besides," he continued before the other male could interrupt, "the radiation coming from the Robeast is starting to foul our instruments. If we don't move quickly to dispose of it, none of us are going to be able to tell up from down very soon."

At that moment the Robeast's mirror-like panels on its back began glowing with a sickening crimson light.

 _"Pidge, report!"_ Keith barked out, turning his attention back on the battle and away from the drule prince.

 _"It's the Robeast's radiation! I think it's about to spike and...!"_

That was as far as Pidge got when his prediction proved to be true and the six panels on the Robeast spewed forth a burning crimson light that engulfed not only Voltron, but Sven and Lotor's ship as well.

Allura screamed as once more Voltron's system flickered. It felt like the radiation was ripping her apart from the inside out. She felt as though _she_ were the one who was burning, instead of Voltron. Once more she lost her conscious link to group mind and was thrust once again into the white world...

Only the scene had changed. She was no longer looking at a young Sven and his sister going on a picnic. Only this time it was a much older Sven, closer to seventeen and his sister who now a budding teenager.

The girl was crying, tears streaming down her face. _"Opat you can't go! Please don't leave me!"_

Sven gathered his sister in his arms, wiping the tears from her eyes. _"This is good for us. Going to the United States will let me bring you over as well."_

 _"But you'll be gone for two years! I won't see you!"_

She pulled out of his arms, her eyes angry and vulnerable. _"You promised to protect me! You promised to never leave me again!"_

 _"Stasya I_ am _protecting you! I_ will _come_ _back for you and then we'll be together!"_

He sounded angry, but underneath the anger was a hurt that made Allura ache to hear. She could see how much Sven loved his sister and she could also see how his leaving was killing her.

 _"I don't believe you! Go to America! I never want to see you again!"_

 _"Stasya, no! Come back let me explain!"_

"I don't understand, why am I seeing this?"

 **Look and you will find your answer**

Allura no longer had to look behind her to see who was answering her silent questions. This...she could not escape this and had to accept it for what it was and somehow, inexplicably, Sven was tied to it.

She waited and saw once again the white world shift and this time the memory she saw made her gasp and cry out, reaching out with hands to stop what was about to happen...

...but another voice broke into her mind, once more pulling her back into her physical body and out of the white world.

"What is that thing doing to us?" Sven demanded, his voice harsh and his breathing labored. He had felt a tearing sensation in his mind.

He had also felt the pain of his former teammates, which he thought to be impossible. _I'm not hooked up to that damn robot anymore, so why can I still feel them?_

 _"I don't know and I don't care,"_ Keith responded, _"we're not wasting anymore time on this. Form laser blade storm."_

Swirling blue light, like miniature stars, formed around the front panels of the robotic knight and quickly took off like shooting stars to the remaining Robeast, slamming into his tough body.

 _"Allura,"_ Keith called out to her, his mind linking with hers, _"I_ felt _your scream, tell me you're alright?"_

At that moment he didn't care that he sounded impatient and demanding. He had _felt_ her pain, the terror in her mind and the overwhelming confusion. He wanted nothing more than to _end_ this battle, detach the lions and pull her into her arms so he could physically verify that she was _safe._

 **"** _ **I,"**_ she gulped in a breath as tears clogged her throat and she swallowed them down, _**"I think so Keith...its just that last blast,"**_

She made a frustrated sound. She wanted to tell him, _needed_ to tell him what was going on but she couldn't. She didn't want his concentration divided between her and the Robeast.

 _"Allura talk to me, tell me what is happening to you. Let me help you."_

 _"_ _ **I'm not sure what that last blast did, Keith but I'm okay. We'll...we'll talk later."**_

Keith growled low in the back of his throat as she quietly closed off their private link to each other. He sensed that she was hiding something from him. He didn't like secrets but at the present moment he didn't have time to coax them out of her.

He made a silent vow that they would talk and he wasn't going to leave until he was completely satisfied with her answers.

Just then he heard Sven and Lotor's voice over the com. They were keeping open communications between them in order to coordinate the attacks.

"Don't give it a chance to regroup Sven," Lotor was saying to the marksman, "open fire now."

"Firing all weapons now!"

A barrage of missiles and lasers also rained down upon the creature and yet...

 _"Uh guys,"_ stammered out Pidge with wide eyes _, "I don't think this is working...and it looks really mad now!"_

With a loud roar, the creature let loose another blast of crimson radiation at both of its opponents. Only this time its blast was twice the size and with double the intensity.

 _"Evasive maneuvers!"_ Keith yelled out but it was already too late. They had been too close to the creature and the lethal blast ripped into all of them.

 _ **"Keith!"**_ Allura screamed out as she heard the tearing of metal and the mental anguish of her teammates.

Only this time he could not respond to her, none of the team responded to her as each of their minds collapsed under the collective weight of their pain.

Once more Allura was thrust into the white world...

...only this time, Sven was there with her and aware of her.

He was looking at her with something akin to terrified awe.

"H-how...how is this possible?"


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note:** Update! Yes another one. This chapter however...well it's not all sparkles and light. It's dark, most definitely. So as you have been warned, this story is rated T but I **strongly** suggest you be at least 16+ when reading this story. Anyway that is my ramble and as always, all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews! Reviews!**

"If I showed you my teardrops,

Would you collect them like rain,

Store them in jars,

That are labeled with "Pain",

Would you follow their tracks,

From my eyes down my cheeks,

As they write all the stories,

I'm too scared to speak,

Would you stop them with kisses,

Bring their flow to a halt,

As you teach me that pain,

Isn't always my fault,

Would you hold my face gently,

As you dry both my eyes,

And whisper the words,

"You're too precious to cry",

If I showed you my teardrops,

Would you show me your own,

And learn though we're lonely,

We're never alone."

E.H.

The pain was unimaginable, like a thousand fires lit up each nerve ending until all he could was scream. Scream and scream until he bled his throat raw from the pain. It was unending and he thought he would die from it.

 _At least,_ he thought as his mind could no longer stand the agony being inflicted on his body, _I will see Stasya again..._

That thought alone gave him a moment of comfort and as soon as he thought of his beloved sister, the pain ended.

Without warning, it was simply gone. Not even a hint of agony, of fire feeding upon his mind.

Just gone.

Instead of agony, Beauty stood before his eye.

For a moment, he could not believe his eyes. _Stasya_ , his mind whispered to him when he beheld the woman standing in front of him but he instantly denied that thought.

Stasya was _dead_ and she wasn't going to ever come back.

No matter how much he wished it so.

The woman, however, was familiar to him. _More_ than familiar.

It was Allura, Princess of Arus, but she was...different.

Sven found himself kneeling at her feet, as though he were some knight of old bowing down before a queen.

 _An apt thought if I ever had one,_ he thought as he gazed upon the golden-haired woman.

She looked the part of a queen. Her hair, the majority of the golden mass, was left loose yet seemed to float about her as if an invisible breeze was continuously playing with it. Yet several locks were twisted about her head, entwined with gauzy, white ribbon and crystals. Two locks of hair, equally twisted, fell free all the way past he waist.

He never knew that her hair could be that long. Like liquid sunlight, dancing in the invisible breeze, it seemed to shimmer with its own light.

Nestled upon her head was a silver-white crown. A five-point crown, the center an exact replicate of the cross emblem that was on the front of Voltron, with a circular ruby at its heart. Two other points were connected the main piece by half a dozen thumb size rubies.

The dress she wore could only be described as exotic. It was unlike anything Sven had seen on Earth, or elsewhere. He had to assume it was her coronation dress when she became queen. The bodice of the gown was nothing more than sheer, pale amethyst cloth with a single strap across her breasts to keep it up. It split down the middle, showing off the inner curves of her breasts, the flat planes of her stomach until several crisscrossed bands of ruby wrapped around her waist. From her waist down, the gown flared into floating layers of diaphanous silk.

Her shoulders were left bare, but from her upper arms to her wrist flared long sleeves of floating, diaphanous silk, with bands of ruby cuffing her upper arms and wrapped around her arms until only her fingers could be seen.

She wore no shoes, but jeweled rings upon her toes.

Indeed she seemed to sparkle with jewels. Rings on each of her fingers, a silver choker around her neck with a star ruby at the center with silver chain that dangled a tear-drop ruby just above the strap of her gown.

"Ah...how is this possible?"

It was the only words he could voice to her. She was so exquisite to his starved eyes, she was terrifying.

She looked down at him, and he noted that her luminous eyes seemed startled to see him there, talking to her.

"You can see me."

Her voice was soft, barely a whisper, yet he heard her as clear as day. Her words were rhetorical and he assumed that she hadn't meant for him to hear them.

It was then that he saw the compassion in her eyes when she looked at him, a _knowing_ in her gaze that made him drop his own.

Her eyes, like the heart of a sapphire, seemed to look directly into his soul.

 _What is left of it, at least._ He thought bitterly.

"Sven," she called out his name with such imploring sweetness that he could not help but lift his head to gaze at her once again.

"I'm not entirely sure how this is happening." He gaze was direct, her words soft but certain, "however I _do_ know that we are not hallucinating and this is not a dream."

"How can you be so certain?" he bit out, his voice sound rough in this white world, unlike the sweet silken tones of the princess.

"Because I have been here before." she told him with absolute certainty that he could find no words to gainsay her. "Perhaps it is because of the radiation, perhaps it is simply...time," she said the last part with a resigned sigh, "but what I do know is that for the first time in a _very_ long time, Voltron is strong enough...to speak to me."

It was then that Sven realized there was an image behind Allura, like some kind of mirage that one would see when in desert. It shimmered, like an apparition but there was no mistaking it for what I was.

The completed form of Voltron.

Like some phantom protector, it stood behind the princess, silent but observing their interactions.

"Speak...to you?" Sven asked with an incredulous he could not hope to feign, "but...but he's a robot! Metal and gears, how can he 'speak' to you at all?"

"That is not entirely accurate," she told him softy, her hand together as if in supplication, "Voltron was formed using both science and the ancient magick of my people. Most of what was used in his making has been lost for more than a thousand years, but what I can tell you...he is very much alive and has allowed me to 'see' into you, Sven."

Sven felt the bottom of his stomach drop out when she looked at him with such aching empathy, as though she knew...

 _Impossible, nobody knows. Those files were destroyed, not even Garrison knows..._ "What do you mean by 'see'?" he asked her with open hostility.

"Sven," his name like a sigh upon her lips, "I know...about Stasya, you sister. I know what happened to her."

" _How?"_ He wanted to scream it out, but it came out like a strangled sob, "how can _you_ know that name?"

"Oh Sven," she sighed, "will you not believe me just this once?"

It was then, that her eyes turned completely silver and began glowing with incandescent blue light, an image mirrored in the eyes of the transparent Voltron behind her.

 **"It would seem,"** she continued in voice that was her...yet not. It was the voice that held her own, uniquely feminine tone, multiplied with a strong male voice that overlapped, **"that words alone will not convince you of the truth."**

She turned in the white landscape and gave a graceful wave of her arm and the landscaped shifted until a girl, no more than nine, appeared.

Smiling with her hands clasped around a bouquet of wildflowers. The girl, besides the two adults, were the only color in the white world.

 **"Stasya, as she was."**

Sven made a strangled sound as the image of his dead sister appeared before her eyes. He reached, as though her would clasp her to him...and visibly shuddered, pulling back.

"That," his voice was hoarse as though he were holding back a scream, "could be any little girl."

Allura sighed and the image vanished, replaced by the teenage version of Stasya, when Sven had left to go to the United States.

"Stasya!" Sven leap to his feet, but the girl did not turn at the sound of his voice, but remained mute and blind to the world around her.

 **"Your sister, as you were forced to leave her behind."**

"She was so angry with me. For leaving her. I didn't _want_ to leave her, I had _no choice!"_

 **"Your parents, they forced you to go to America. After the...tests."**

Sven no longer knew how she knew these details about his life, but now that she seemed to know the secrets, it was though a dam had opened up inside of him and he could not stop the flood of emotions that poured out, suppressed for so long.

"Da," he replied in his native language, his voice so guttural as to be unrecognizable, "those _tests,_ " he spat the word out as if it were some foul thing on his tongue, "said I was too close to my sister. That I, her brother, were a danger to her. As if I would harm her!"

"My parents didn't care about me _or_ her. We were just money to them. An income to live off of. It was _me_ who wiped away her tears when she had nightmares, who praised her when she did well in school. _I_ was the one who she turned to for protection and I was condemned for it!"

His breath was ragged. "She was _mine!_ My life and I was forced to abandon her. Yet she blamed _me._ "

Tears gleamed in his eyes and he drew in a hard breath, unable to go on.

"Is that why you avoided me when you first came to Arus?" it was Allura voice, her own, with no overlay of power.

He turned at looked at at her with eyes full of pain and rage.

"Because I looked like Stasya?"

"No! I that is..." he sighed and lifted a hand to his face, "it's true, for a moment you bore a similar resemblance to her. It hurt, sometimes, to look at you. To be reminded of what I had lost. But I knew that you were _not_ her and because you were not her, I hated you for it."

"Sven what happened in South America was not your fault."

Sven blinked his eyes at her, wondering if his hearing had suddenly gone faulty.

"I...don't know what you're talking about. I did nothing wrong that day."

Allura sighed and knew that Sven was in denial about a great many things. She didn't want to do this...but he was leaving her no choice.

 **"Look,"** she told him, her eyes glowing incandescent once again, **"and remember."**

The white world shifted and it was no longer white, but dark with skies glittering with stars. All around them was exotic flora and twisting tree's.

 _"Come on! We have to get out of here!"_

It was Sven, his hand around the wrist of a slender young woman with pale, blonde hair and wide blue eyes. He was dressed completely in black, only his face was visible in the sickle moon's light. Strapped to his hips were several guns and one, long, serrated blade.

 _"No! I don't want to leave! Let me go!"_

Sven turned to glare at his sister, who had tears in her eyes when she looked at him.

 _"You don't belong here! I don't care how you got here in the first place, but I'm not leaving you behind."_

 _"Let her go."_

Sven and his sister Stasya turn to look at a male who was older than Sven, but not by much. He has the look of someone who was native to the country. Cropped black hair with a slight goatee, dark amber eyes and skin like mocha. Like Sven, he has the look of a man who has been trained for battle.

 _"Diego!"_ Stasya's cry of relief is like a knife to his heart.

 _"Mi Amor, be calm. You'll be free of him soon."_

 _"Be free of_ me?" Sven could not believe what this male was saying, " _she is_ my _sister and I am taking her back with me."_

 _"Who are you exactly?"_

 _"Sven Holgersson."_

The male's eyes widen at the name. He laugh, short and hard and devoid of mirth. _"So, you're the american who was sent to extract me."_

Sven's eyes widen. _"You're my target? But my intel said your name is David,_ not _Diego and you were not accompanied by a_ young _female."_

 _He emphasized the young part, regarding his sister._

 _"I'm not young! I'm eighteen now!"_

 _"As you can see, your sister does not wish to be with you. Let her go and we will leave this place."_

Sven glowered at the other male, _"and if I refuse your 'request'?"_

Diego gave a cold smile and pulled a gun on him. _"Refusal is not an option. I have no wish to shoot my beloved's brother, but I will if you continue to hold her against her will."_

Sven gave the male he was suppose to be here to save, an even colder look. _"She is_ not _your 'beloved'. We are leaving, now!"_

 _"I am his beloved! I love him! I do!"_

 _"Stasya!"_ Sven turned on his sister and shook her by the shoulders, _"You are eighteen! Still a child, what do you know of this man! He is using you!"_

 _"No!" s_ he wrenched out his arms _, "he said he loved me! He said he would never leave me!"_

She looked so miserable, standing there, tears flowing freely from his eyes.

 _"That's right, mi amor, I will never leave you. Unlike your brother, I will never abandon you."_

 _"Shut up!"_ Sven roared and pulled his own gun on the other male, _"Stasya is that it? Do you still blame me for leaving four years ago? I came back for you like I said I would but you were gone!"_

 _"I can to find you!"_ she screamed at him, _"I left for america as soon as I was able to steal enough money for my visa! I looked and looked for you! I wrote you a dozen letters and you never responded! You lied to me!"_

 _"Stasya..."_ Sven reached for his sister but the male had already moved in front of her and held a gun at Sven.

"Stop!" Sven, the one who was with Allura, cried out. "Stop I don't need to see this!"

But it was already too late to stop, for this was his memory.

The image of Diego moved in front of the girl, touching her arm, and Sven saw this...enraged he fired his gun at the man he was supposed to have saved.

 _"Diego! Diego!"_ Stasya screamed, as the man died in her arms, _"don't leave me!"_

But her cries fell on deaf ears and he did not awaken. She looked up at her brother with the eyes of a sleepwalker. Someone who did not see the carnage around her.

Sven holstered his gun and held out his hand to his sister. _"I had to,"_ he told with a finality, _"I said I would protect you. He was lying to you, cecpta. Now, come with me and we can be together, like I promised."_

But she only stared at him with unblinking eyes. Concerned that she might be in shock from all the violence Sven moved forward...and that was when Stasya grabbed the knife on his belt, the unsheathed blade at her heart.

 _"Stasya...what are you doing!"_

But it was already too late. _"I am lost to you opat...goodbye."_

Stasya, his beloved sister, stabbed the knife through her heart. Sven screamed in anguish as his sister bled out in front of him, her lifeless body slumped over the dead male.

"I...I couldn't stop her! She was supposed to have lived but I killed her!"

 **"Sven...you could not have stopped her."** Allura told the guilt-ridden male, **"Sven there is something you must know."**

"Know? What must I know?"

 **"I told you, once before, that Voltron has let me 'see' into you and please,** _ **please**_ **believe me when I say this to you...** _ **none**_ **of this is your fault."**

Sven made a sound akin to a trapped animal, he waved his hand at the now white world. "I killed my sister! I sabotaged Voltron and I joined the drule and you say _none of this_ is my fault!"

 **"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Because...oh Sven, there is something wrong, deep inside of your mind. Something you were born with, something no doctor with all their tests and knowledge, could detect."**

Sven couldn't understand what she was telling him. Something was _wrong_ with him? Something he was born with?

"What...are you saying I have...a brain defect?" Was she telling he had some mental disease that was affecting his thinking?

He couldn't... _wouldn't_ believe it!

"Yes," she replied with tears in her eyes, "it's why you...felt that way about your sister. It was why Merla was able to reach out to you...in your dreams, to control your mind. It was this defect...that was why Voltron could not accept you."

"But _why?_ " the cry was torn from his lips, so utterly lost and confused.

Allura went to him, reaching her arms out to him and this time he allowed her to hold him as his tears ran, unchecked, down his face.

"To be a part of Voltron, you must be able to open your mind completely to him...and to the rest of the team. You couldn't do that, not with the secrets your carried. Your mind, there is a part of it that is _always_ closed off."

"But _how_ do you know this? How?"

"Through my bloodline. I am the connection, through Altarus, who first gave Voltron life. Through me, he is able to speak, to see the truth behind the lies. Though this will probably exhaust him for a very long time."

Allura stroked the older male's hair, trying ease the pain she had inflicted on him.

"Sven...Sven, please forgive yourself. It's not your fault..."

Sven wrapped his arm around Allura's waist and cried as if his soul were breaking. He clung to her the way a child would cling to his mother after a nightmare.

The lies had been stripped from his mind and she had shown him the truth about himself.

"I...can't...I..."

 _"...ugh! That was really scary!"_

It was Pidge's voice, inside her mind. Allura blinked and realized she was back inside her body, her spirit no longer in the white world.

" _Man I think my brain fried for a second!"_ Lance chimed in, _"Feels like I have a hangover from hell!"_

 _"I hear you on that buddy,"_ replied Hunk, a hint of nausea coming through his voice, _"that beast really rang my bell."_

 _"Okay people, focus. I know we were all out of it for those few seconds, but we can't take another hit like that one."_

It was Keith's voice, a bit shaky, but still in control.

 _"Allura, respond."_ again Keith reaching out to her, but she had no ears for him. Her mind, she could still feel Sven within it.

The guilt, the absolute rage...and something else that made her hands shake as she took back control of blue lion.

 _ **"Sven?"**_ she called out, her voice a whisper of suffering that had every member of the Voltron Force sitting up and paying attention.

 _"Allura...what is it? Are you hurt?"_ Keith tried to initiate contact with her...but she was blocking him and yet he could feel her pain, her sorrow.

It was all focused on Sven.

"I...can't...I...Allura."

Keith looked up, startled to hear Sven's voice over the com. He sounded shaken, as though he had been crying. His voice had broken when he spoke Allura's name.

 _What the hell happened to him and why is he calling for Allura like that?_

He didn't like it, not one bit. They had only been unconscious for a few seconds at most. What could have possibly happened to make him sound like that?

"Holgersson! What the hell do you think you're doing!"

It was Lotor's voice, sounding angry and panicked over the com that everyone was patched into.

"The only thing I can do."

His voice was no longer shaking...but there was a flatness to his voice that made Allura shiver with trepidation.

"You've overridden the helm! Give me back the controls, now! Are you insane?"

"No."

But the ship, despite his words, was in a direct path of the Robeast.

"This is madness!" Lotor yelled at the human as his futile efforts to take back the controls failed. "That _thing_ nearly melted our systems with one shot! What you're trying to do is suicide! Listen to reason or you'll kill us both!"  
But instead of listening to Lotor, Sven accelerated the ship, intending to ram the ship straight at the Robeast.

"The ship has escape pods," he told Lotor, all emotion gone from his voice, "feel free to use one."

No one had to die...no, but him that is.

Despite Allura's words to him, he could not do as she asked of him.

He could not forgive himself.

 _"W-what is...h-he!"_ Lance stammered out but he couldn't wrap his brain around what he was seeing.

But Allura, who still had a sense of his mind through her connection to Voltron, knew.

 _ **"Sven! No, no! You don't have to do this!"**_ she was crying and screaming at the older male, _**"Keith! Do something! He's going to sacrifice himself!"**_

 _"I'm trying!" he yelled out, working the controls as furiously as he was able, "Hunk! Pidge! Stop him,grab that ship before...!"_

 **BOOM**!


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Note:** Update! Hope you're enjoying the story still! Yeah I know its a little dark...okay it's a LOT dark but that's what will make the light shine that much brighter, yes? As always all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Wow I have over a 130 reviews! So blessed, so blessed by my readers!

"Sadness settled on her

like a gray sky's snowfall.

A coldness in the bones,

hypothermia of the heart.

Somewhere, the sun blazed,

this she knew to be true.

But for the moment,

winter had come calling again."

John Mark Green

Allura lay in her borrowed room, weeping silent tears into her pillow. She had been like this for close to an hour. Her mind would give her no rest, the memories of the events from earlier playing in her mind like a song that had no ending.

Every time she closed her eyes, it was all she could see...

 **BOOM!**

 _The shock wave blasted Voltron far the outer atmosphere of Caladran. "Hold on! Hold on!" Keith was yelling, trying to regain Voltron that they would at least survive this battle._

 _**"Sven!"** Allura was still yelling out, **"Please, answer me! Sven! Someone, anyone answer me!"**_

 _But despite her please, her calls for help, there was no answer._

 _"Allura! It's no use! There's too much interference." Pidge tried to calm Allura down but it was all he could do to stay connected to Voltron._

 _As the shock waves lessened Keith regained system controls and took Voltron over a sweep of Caladran._

 _"Mother of God," Lance whispered as he saw the crater that had once been the city of Caldera, "No one could have survived that..."_

 _"Enough of that Lance," Keith cut in, his voice sharp with the younger male, "continue flight pattern. Let's see if we can pick up any life signs."_

 _Keith had them sweep the patter over Caladera for a good twenty minutes, but the static from the radiation was messing with sensors and they could detect no life signs._

 _The planet, for all intent and purposes, was deserted._

 _"Uhh..Keith?" Lance made tentative contact with his commander, knowing the other male had to be on edge by now._

 _"What is it Lance?"_

Man _, thought Lance as he heard Keith's voice,_ and I thought I sounded 's got to be ready to drop, _"I hate to say this...but we need to stop. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm about ready to drop."_

 _"Yeah..." slurred Pidge's voice, "don't know how much longer I can keep this up."_

 _"Ditto." replied Hunk, who sounded just as bone weary as the rest of them._

 _"Agreed, time to let Voltron rest. Nothing else we can do until the atmosphere clears."_

 _Allura made no reply, she was still desperately trying to use her link with Voltron to scan for Sven's mind._

 _But her silent plea's were met with unending darkness._

 _Either the blast had sent Sven's ship so far away from them that he was out of her reach...or he was dead._

 _Either way, she knew that the team needed to regroup and recuperate. They couldn't stay in Voltron mode forever, it was a drain on all of them._

 _Both mentally and physically._

 _Keith hit the sequence and instantly the Knight split into five shooting stars that descended on the far side of the planet where the radiation had not reached._

 _Allura found it hard to leave her cockpit, so integrated she had become with Voltron. Her mind was still reeling from the revelation she had been given._

 _Voltron was_ alive _and only she knew it._

Except for Sven, _she amended silently,_ but if he truly is...gone, then no one knows but me...

 _The implications of that shook her and she wanted, at that moment, desperately for Sven to be alive._

 _She could hear male voices talking outside and knew she was stalling. She hadn't face any of them, especially_ Keith, _her mind whispered to her, since they entered orbit around Caladran. By her estimations they had been inside Voltron for over six hours._

 _It felt like a lifetime._

 _Squaring her shoulder, she took a deep breath and exited out of Blue Lion._

 _The rest of the team was waiting for her._

 _"Allura!"_

 _"Finally, thought I was going to have to dig you out!"_

 _That was Lance._

 _She nodded at the rest of the team, but it was Keith who was already at the ramp, his fingers already touching her face._

 _"You have blood on your face," he told her quietly, his eyes glittering like black diamonds. At that moment she had wanted, no_ ached, _to do nothing else but throw herself in his arms and make him promise to never let her go._

 _Instead, she gently took his hand away from her face and without a word to him, she turned away and looked for Pidge._

 _Lance and Hunk, who had seen this, began talking very loudly._

 _"So...uh," started Hunk, who was trying to pretend he_ hadn't _seen the gentle rebuff Allura had given Keith, "did you see...ah, well_ tell _if...you know, Yurak, survived that crash?"_

 _Lance stared at him for second, turned to look at Keith, who had stone look on his face, and mouthed an 'ouch' when Hunk elbowed him in the ribs._

 _"Dunno," he replied rubbing his bruised side, "I didn't see his ship, or any ship for that matter,_ anywhere. _"_

 _"Allura," Keith had caught up with her, his hand a gentle restraint on her arm and she was forced to turn and look at him. The tracks of her tears were still mingled with blood that was on her face._

 _She did not answer him, but simply waited for him to speak. She offered no words, no encouragement to him._

 _Yet he knew what he had felt_ from _her and_ for _her. Her sudden distance had not changed any of those facts._

 _Still... "Did something happen up there? There was a moment where none of us could reach you,"_ I couldn't reach you, _he wanted to tell her,_ " _did...I miss something?"_

 _His eyes searched hers and she knew what he wanted. He wanted her to tell him about Sven...about why she was screaming his name._

 _But she couldn't. Not yet, not now. She felt raw by what she had learned of Sven. What had happened to her._

 _"I...," she began and tears gathered in her eyes, "nothing that," a sob caught in her throat, "...that made a difference."_

 _She turned and motioned for Pidge to join them. He gave her an unhappy look but complied._

 _"Unless," she could not keep the tremor of hope, no matter how slim, out of her voice when she talked to the slight male, "...Pidge you've always been more attuned to our sensors than anyone else. Did you...did_ you _sense anything? Anything at all?"_

 _Pidge looked distinctly unhappy and uncomfortable and he looked to Keith for help, who gave a silent nod of his head._

 _If he had information, no matter how little, he needed to speak._

 _Pidge sighed and took off his glasses to clean them, speaking softly._

 _"I...I can't be sure. All that static from the radiation really played havoc on the sensors but..."_

 _"But?" Allura prompted him when fell silent._

 _He fidgeted and finally said the words out in a rush. "I saw one. Only one pod made it out."_

 _Allura turned away from them all, so they could not see the tears fall from her face._

 _One pod had escaped...and everyone on the team had heard Sven tell Lotor to take it and escape._

"Allura? I'm coming in."

"Keith I just-"

But her words were cut off as the dark eyed male came into her borrowed quarters. He held a plate in his hand and what looked to be a canister of water.

"You need to eat."

She turned away from him, not bearing to be able to look at him.

"I'm not hungry."

She sounded distant, formal, even to her own ears.

"I don't care. You _need_ to eat."

She turned back to him, her eyes blazing. " _Don't_ tell me what I have to do. I _said_ I'm not hungry!"

Keith crossed his arms and leaned up against the door, the plate of food sitting at the edge of the bed.

"When your done having your temper tantrum, the food will still be there."

Allura hissed out a breath from between her teeth at his cruel words. "A _temper tantrum_ , is _that_ what you think this is!"

"What else am I suppose to think?" he shot back, "you've barely looked at any of us, you _refuse_ to speak and demand to be left alone and now you won't eat. So, yes, I believe that qualifies as a temper tantrum."

"Get out!" she yelled at him. Her grief, the crushing guilt that she was responsible for Sven's death, was eating away at her. She was angry, so _very_ angry, but she had locked herself away so that _this_ particular scenario wouldn't play out.

"No." he replied, "not until you tell me what's wrong."

"What's wrong, _commander,_ is that I want to be left alone!"

Keith moved from the door and in with seconds he had Allura hauled up from the bed, her wrist pinned in his grip.

"No, you do _not_ get to push me away. We've gone through this once already, remember? Now act like the adult you are and talk to me."

"Ugh!" she screamed and tried pulling away from him, but the only that got her was a heavy sigh from Keith...and just like that she was back on her bed, on her back with Keith hovering over her.

"Now, let's try this again." his voice was so mild, so agreeable that it took her a second to hear the controlled rage in his voice. "I am _not_ leaving until you talk to me Allura. Why are you trying to push me away."

"You don't understand!" she yelled at him, feeling so helpless...so out of control. It was like she was spiraling and had no way to stop it.

"Then explain it to me!" he snapped at her. "Don't just push me away and expect me accept it. What happened between you and Sven up there and don't give me that bullshit answer that nothing happened. I _heard_ him, when he called out your name."

Allura closed her eyes and all the fight went out of her.

"I couldn't stop him, Keith. I tried so hard...b-but I couldn't _help_ him. He...he n-needed me..." great, heaving sobs had her gasping for air and Keith quickly pulled her up and into his arms and she clung to him as though he were her only safety.

"Allura...Allura," he repeated her name, stroking the silky mass of her hair, "I...I didn't realize he meant that much to you..."

He sounded so confused that, for the moment, it managed to stop her tears. She pulled her head up and instead of anger, there was only...hurt, and sadness in his eyes.

 _Oh gods...he thinks I'm_ in love _with Sven. He thinks that's why I'm so upset._

"Keith...yes," she tried to put into words her kaleidoscope of feelings, "he does mean a lot to me," this time it was Keith who turned from her and she pulled his head back. Now that he had her talking, she _needed_ him to understand, "just like all of you mean something to me. As I told Sven up there, you are _all_ very precious to me. Just like family."

"But the way you called out to him...the way you said his name," his dark eyes bore into hers as though he would see into her mind and piece her together, "it seemed 'more' than just a bond of family. Why did he call out for you when mere moments ago he was practically ignoring you?"

"I," she slid her eyes away from his. This...this was something she dared not talk about. Only Sven knew what had happened in the white world. "I can't answer that."

"Can't," this time is was Keith who took her face into his hand, forcing her to look at him, "or _won't?_ "

She shivered at the dark light in his eyes. _He knows,_ she thought with widening eyes, _he knows that something happened between us. That I, too, now have secrets I cannot share._

 _But if he knew the truth..._

She closed her eyes and felt the tears leak out once more. It was so _unfair!_ Why did the spirit of Voltron have to appear to _Sven?_

"Your silence speaks volumes, did you know that?"

She opened his eyes and she gasped when he suddenly let her go. She fell back on the bed, her body bereft of his warmth.

"Fine, I get it." he ran a hand through his hair, a sure sign of his agitation, "You won't talk to me. Obviously you and I had some serious miscommunication between us."

"Miscommunication? Keith...I don't understand.".

He glared at her and she wrapped her arms about her body. "Don't play dumb with me Allura, it doesn't suit a woman of your intelligence."

"I'm not playing Keith! What are you _talking_ about?"

"I thought you had feelings for me Allura," he told her bluntly and watched as her mouth opened and the blush spread across her face, "I thought..for a moment you..." but even now, he couldn't say the words.

"Never mind. I was wrong," he made a slashing motion with his hand, "as I said, serious miscommunication. However, for future reference, you shouldn't make it a habit of kissing men you have no intention of being with."

"Keith wait!" Allura scrambled off the bed, the borrowed clothing fouling up her legs as Keith's long stride quickly took him to the door.

"You need to eat, _princess._ We'll be on our way as soon as Hunk and Pidge figure out ships navigation."

She pulled up short at his caustic words. She had well and truly hurt him and now he was treating her the way she had treated him earlier.

Cold and without a care to how she felt.

The door shut behind with a finality that had Allura crumpling to the ground, a ball of complete misery.

 _Oh Keith, it's not true! I do...I do love you! With all my heart...but I_ can't _tell you I am not 'princess' anymore._

 _I am Queen now._


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's Note:** Update! Yes finally an update! Hey I did say that my updates would be sporadic and I do apologize for the lengthy wait but I hope this makes up for it! As always, all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews! Reviews! Reviews! Reviews!** There, I think that should be enough of a hint...

"When she is quiet

There is a reason.

She is sorting through

All the chaos in

Her head...

And all the madness

In her heart."

Keith stormed into the holding bay where the Lions were being housed at the present time. For now they had 'commandeered' one of Yurak's ships, one of the few to escape the lethal blast that Sven had created when he destroyed the Robeast.

Yurak's forces, along with Lotor, were nowhere to be seen. As Lance had stated, the spoils of war went to them and right now they needed that ship. The Lions were just about done in, it would take several hours for the Cats to be fully charged and everyone was still on edge from the battle.

"So...judging by the look on your face, it didn't go so well?"

Lance was in the holding bay, he was beyond the point of being tired that he couldn't shut his body down, and so he was at the feet of Red Lion waiting for Keith to return.

"No, it didn't." His words were clipped, his eyes giving way to the frustration in his voice. He slammed his fist against the metal wall, the pain a distant thing in his mind.

Physical pain he could handle. He couldn't count how many ribs he had broken over the years, the number of times he fractured his hands or his feet. You simply tucked your chin, anticipated the pain and moved on from it.

"I just don't get it," he sighed as leaned up against the cold metal of Black Lion, "I thought..." but he let the words drop and closed his eyes.

Emotional pain, he knew, was a bitch. There was no warning, no way to evade it, to stop it from happening.

"Yeah, know what you mean," Lance replied, uncommonly solemn as he absently bounced a rubber ball from the wall back to his hand. "I really...didn't see that one coming. I mean Sven and Allura? I thought he, you know, hated her."

"So did I. But we were wrong. _I_ was wrong."

Lance glanced sharply at Keith. There was a flatness to his voice that did not bode well. He had come to know the commander this last year and one thing he knew about Keith was the angrier he got, the less emotional he sounded.

Right now Keith's tone sounded dead, which told Lance that Keith was at the scary-as-hell kind of anger.

"Maybe. Maybe not."

Keith gave the younger male a cold, hard look. Lance swallowed hard and reminded himself to tread carefully.

He did _not_ want give Keith an excuse to use his sorry ass for a punching bag.

"All I'm saying is we really don't know what happened up there. Not between Sven and the Drule's and definitely not between him and Allura. Besides, she seems to like _you_ more than the rest of us."

Keith opened his mouth to deny his words but Lance bounced the ball at him, forcing Keith to catch before it hit him in the face.

"Keith, contrary to popular belief, I can see past the end of my nose. The others might be a little slow but I know what I see when she looks at you...and when you look at her. So my question is this; why haven't you done _anything_ about it yet?"

Keith glowered at Lance and threw the ball back at him. Lance caught it and winced as his palm stung from the impact.

"It's not..." he began, but stopped. It was _exactly_ like Lance said it was. "There was never any time."

Lance gave a snort and bounced the ball back towards the wall, "That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard in my life."

"Don't push it Lance. I'm really not in the mood to deal with your attitude right now."

"No, you just like to sit there and brood. Did you even _try_ talking to her about all of this?"

Lance glared at Keith who, at that moment, looked like he wanted nothing more than to smash his face into the nearest wall.

"Of course I tried talking to her," he growled out the words and Lance prudently scooted over a few more feet, just out of his reach, "but she refused to tell me anything."

"Did you try anything else?"

Keith gave him a hard look. "There was nothing else to 'try' unless you expect me to beat the truth out of her."

Again Lance snorted at that. "She would break your hand before you even laid a finger on her. She's one tough chick."

Keith's glower lightened just a bit at his remark. Keith knew from personal experience just how tough Allura was.

Not that he would ever lay a hand on her in anger.

"Exactly, so there was nothing else to try."

"Dude and I thought you were suppose to be the smart one out of the two of us." Lance's mocking words had Keith popping his eyes back open and giving him a murderous look once more.

"If you have something to say, spit it out otherwise quit wasting my time with your idiotic comments."

"You said you tried talking to her. So when that didn't work why the hell didn't you just kiss her and _see_ if her feelings were real or not."

Keith could only stare at Lance, who rolled his eyes and continued to bounce his ball against the wall.

"She was upset, crying for gods sake and you expected me to just kiss her?" his voice was incredulous as if he couldn't believe Lance was trying to give him advice on how to handle Allura, of all people.

Lance shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? Crying females _always_ cling to the one person who makes them feel safe. If you had kissed her and she didn't immediately punch you in the mouth for it, well hell, it doesn't take Pidge's brain to realize she still has feelings for you."

Keith could only stare at the cocky young pilot.

 _Could it really be that simple?_

He couldn't decided if he wanted to punch Lance for his advice...or shake his head and go follow it.

"Go."

Lance bounced the ball hard against the wall before it smacked back into his hand. "Because if you don't go," he continued his tone no longer scathing, "then I will. As I said before, if you don't want her..."

"I'm going. Just don't bounce that thing too hard while I'm gone. We don't know the controls well enough if something were to happen."

"Right." He bounced the ball off of Black Lion instead. "Hey Keith?"

The obsidian eyed male stopped and turned to look at Lance, his hand already at the door.

"What is it Lance?"

His tone no longer sounded dead, but it was still hard and full of wariness.

Lance gave the commander a crooked grin. "Good luck."

Keith felt a slight tug of his lips in response and gave a quick, silent nod of his head to his words.

He thought, perhaps, he just might need it.

Keith walked down the halls to Allura's room, wondering what the hell he was going to say to her after his abrupt departure from earlier.

 _I guess I'll have to..._ his thought was derailed when he heard Hunk and Pidge in the main control area.

"...you sure?"

Keith recognized Hunk's voice. Though the other male was of imposing size, he oddly enough had quite the gentle voice.

"No, not really. But it could be something."

"What could be something?" Keith asked, deciding that their conversation warranted his attention.

His...situation with Allura was simply going to have to wait a few more minutes.

Hunk and Pidge snapped their heads up together, like two teenagers suddenly being caught after curfew.

Keith sighed, folded his arms, and waited.

There was a silent war between Hunk and Pidge who would give Keith the news and by Pidge's long, drawn out sigh, the duty fell to him.

 _Man, I hate being the youngest on days like this,_ he thought rather grumpily.

"See that," he pointed to a blinking red light on the console and when Keith nodded his head he continued, " _that_ is a distress beacon."

"Is it Sven?" Keith had to ask, keeping his voice mild, despite the tightening in his gut.

"We don't know," Hunk interjected before Pidge could answer, "but it's only a couple of hours of flight from here."

"I see," he replied, his voice going flat once more. "So what was the argument about then?"

"Uh," gulped Pidge and looked up to Hunk, who scratched his head, looking decidedly nervous.

"We, um, were trying to decide if we should...you know, disturb the princess about this."

"She...she seemed really upset about losing Sven," Pidge continued, pulling off his glasses and wiping them on his shirt.

He did that out of habit when he was nervous about something.

Discussing Allura and Sven with Keith was high on his list of nerve racking things.

"We...we thought if we told her about the beacon, it might...cheer her up?"

"Or give her false hope," Keith cut in then sighed when he saw Pidge's crestfallen look.

 _He's only fifteen,_ Keith reminded himself, _he see's Allura as an older sister. He cares about her and wants to make her happy...even if that happiness means finding Sven._

"Pidge, I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to snap at you," he told the young teen and put a hand on his shoulder, "why don't you go tell Allura. Hunk go get Lance from the holding bay, he'll need to see this as well."

Pidge nodded his head and quickly exited the main area.

"Pidge said you needed to see me Commander?"

Keith turned to look at Allura, who was still out of uniform. Like the rest of them, she had managed to find clothing on the drule ship that wasn't military issue. She was still covered in a dusky purple one piece catsuit but the gold overlay of the tunic that belted at her waist and swirled about her ankles gave her a hint of feminine grace.

Her hair, he noted with his eyes, she had left down in twin braids with the ends reaching past her waist.

The tears that she had shed earlier were nowhere to be seen upon her face, unless one looked her directly in the eye and saw the shadows lurking beneath.

Keith clenched his fist as the punch of desire shot through him like an energy bolt. Despite the harsh words they exchanged earlier, the frostiness still evident in her voice, he still wanted her.

Still ached to pull her in his arms and tuck her close to his body and never let her out of his sight again.

"There's something you need to see."

She didn't flinch at his curt words but neither did she meet his gaze. She simply gave a nod of her head and went to where Pidge and Hunk were already standing.

She saw the blinking light on the control panel and the carefully schooled expression of the two men.

"What is this?"

"A distress beacon from an escape pod."

Allura's eyes lit up at Hunk's words. "Sven's pod!"

She couldn't pull back the words that escaped, or the hope that had been attached to them. _If Sven is alive...yes, he_ must _be alive and then everything will be alright..._

"Actually, we don't know if it is Sven," Pidge cut in, as gently as he was able but still winced as the light dimmed in her cerulean eyes, "see the signal is coming from another ship...and that ship, as far as we can tell, is an old Arusian ship."

"Wait," cut in Lance with his hand up, "you're saying the distress beacon is arusian? How is that possible? I thought all of Arus's ships were destroyed thirteen years ago?"

"That is not entirely correct," Allura replied, her words thoughtful as a look of concentration came over her face, "only the ships in orbit around Arus were destroyed. My people, for the most part, were diplomats and explores. The ships that had be away to other systems never returned when our communications went down. They simply remained...lost."

 _Perhaps this is why Voltron spoke to me now, at this point in time. Perhaps he knew one of our ships were close and we didn't even realize it..._

Once more her eyes glittered with their blue fire, "We have to check it out, no matter what. If it truly is one of my people's lost ships then we must find it. That technology could go a long way in helping restore our world," her eyes gentled as a touch of grief gave shadows to their depths, "perhaps as well...it can give us an idea of where Sven is..."

"Yeah, well," cut in Lance his face as hard as she had ever seen it before, "do we _really_ want to find him?"

Allura could not help the gasp that left her lips as she heard the anger in his voice. "Lance! He is our friend! He sacrificed himself to save all of us, how can we _not_ go look for him?"

"Yeah because he really acted like a _friend_ to us before," Lance shot back...then immediately regretted his angry tone with Allura, who looked shocked and hurt by his outburst. "I'm just saying with everything he has done, does he really deserve another chance?"

"I..." began Allura but immediately stopped when Keith's voice cut through the air, his tone as sharp as a blade that silenced all of them.

"All of this is a moot point. That ship is too close to Drule territory, it's probably a trap." He turned and looked at Allura, and despite his want to patch things up between them, he knew his next words were going to piss her off in a big way.

"We never found any sign of Lotor, it wouldn't surprise me if Lotor set this whole thing up as bait to get revenge on all of us. We need to be careful out here."

Allura heard the message in his words and like he predicted, she was _not_ pleased with him.

"Keith is right," Pidge offered up, a guilty look on his face as he looked at Allura, "that ship...it's just barely on our side of the border."

"Exactly." replied Keith, giving Allura a steely look, "it's too much of a risk."

Allura walked up to him keeping only a foot of distance between them and the look in her eyes told him he was in for a fight.

She was not backing down from this issue.

"Are you _suggesting_ that we don't go? That we just turn around and go home?"

Keith put his hands on his hips and decided that, apparently, they were not done with their fight after all.

"I'm not suggesting anything," he told her in a mild tone, her stance relaxing minutely, before his next words cut like a whip across the air, "I'm _telling_ you, we are _not_ going."

 _Oh boy,_ thought Lance as he looked at Hunk and Pidge, who could only stare at Keith in open shock.

Keith was actually pulling rank on Allura, and by the way her fists were clenched and her back looking like a rod just got shoved down it, she was _not_ happy about it.

" _What_ did you just say to me?"

Her voice was soft, like a caress, but the ice in them was enough that the three males shuddered at her tone and very quietly began to turn around.

There was no way any sane male would stand up to her when she was like that...except that was exactly what Keith was about to do.

 _"_ It's too much of a risk," he shot back, his tone equally arctic, "and I'm _not_ going to let anyone else loose their lives over something so foolish as this."

"Foolish? _Foolish?"_ she spluttered, her anger at his words so great that her blood felt molten in her veins, "Securing that ship is _not_ foolish. Arus _needs_ that technology if we are to get back on our feet! Sven needs us! He could be hurt or dying for all we know!"

Keith stalked over to Allura, so close to her now that she had to tilt her head to look up at him.

 _If he thinks towering over me is going to make me back down, then he still has a lot to learn about me. I cower before_ no _male._

"I am _not_ going to lose another member of this team," he told her in a flat voice, yet his eyes were drowning darkness, as though all the emotions he held were reflected in them, "so don't ask."

 _I thought I had lost you up there,_ his eyes seem to speak to her and she could not look away from their silent words, _so why are you asking me to put you in danger once again?_

"It's _not_ your decision to make" she told him, her words just as devoid of feeling as his, yet her eyes burned as brightly as his own, _You can't keep me locked up, I can't live that way. I have to do this even...even if it means I must go against you._

They were at a stalemate and they knew it. Neither one of them was willing to back down. _Fine, since you won't listen..._

 _"_ Guys tell him..." she turned to talk to the other members present...only to find that they were completely alone in the room.

"...oh."

Allura felt the stain of embarrassment rush across her face. _So much for being a mature adult._ She and Keith had been so caught up in their argument, that neither one of them had noticed the other three had left.

Which was wrong. They were a team, something that both she and Keith seemed to have forgotten in their heated exchange of words.

 _Damn it, we screwed up. I screwed up. I've been so wound up over what happened with Sven and Voltron...I've forgotten that it's not just about me._

"Look," Allura said, breaking the silence. She turned away from Keith, unable to look into his eyes and not respond to the feelings that were burning in them, "let's take a vote. The whole team decides whether we stay...or we go."

"Fine."

Just a single word and yet it was so devoid of feeling she wondered if everything she was doing to makes things right for her people was also destroying the man she loved.


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Note:** Happy New Year Everyone! Boy oh boy has it been forever since I updated! I've had a few...hmm..glitches going on with my account so I don't know if everyone is getting the notes when I update so for those of you who check back regularly for updates, much appreciated. Also many, many, many thanks to everyone who has been so patiently waiting for these updates! So here is the latest one with more to follow, promise!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** **Reviews! Reviews! Reviews!**

"Does the sun promise to shine?

No, but it will,

even behind the darkest clouds it will.

And no promise will make it shine longer or brighter,

for that is its fate,

to burn until it can burn no more.

So, to love you is not my promise,

It is my fate,

to burn until I can burn no more."

Atticus

"Hey guys," Allura called out, her tone subdued as she realized Lance, Hunk and Pidge were going out of their to way to try and _not_ look at either her or Keith.

 _It would seem,_ she thought with more than a hint of chagrin, _that I am not the only one who is embarrassed by all of this as well._ "Look...Keith and I we talked about it,"

"Is that what you called that?" muttered Lance softly but in the echoing silence it was heard by all.

Keith gave a hard cough and looked at the abashed male while Allura once more felt the rush of heat across her face.

"And," she continued as if she had not heard Lance's awkward comment, "we have decided to let the team make the decision. We take a vote," she clarified when Hunk and Pidge gave her confused looks, "the majority wins."

"So," she looked at each of them in the eye and strove to keep her voice neutral, lest her feelings betray her once again, "what do you say? Do we stay and investigate the ship...or do we go home?"

All three heads turned to Keith, who merely shook his head and leaned up against the door frame.

"I will cast my vote last. It's as Allura said, this is a team vote. You have to decide for yourself what we should do."

"Well, as much as I'd like to kick Sven to the curb... I can't ignore a distress signal, so I say we go." Lance told Allura with a gusty sigh.

"Yeah!" piped up Pidge, "we should definitely go!"

"We should at least go and see if the ship is salvageable," Hunk replied, his modulated tone clearly showing he was thinking about what he wanted to say, "I don't think we should go back without at least taking a look at her first."

Allura turned to Keith, who had remained quiet through the whole thing.

"No," he told her, his voice unyielding, "I don't agree with this, but since it is a team vote I will not be the one to screw up what has been decided. _However,_ " he continued his voice whipping across her skin like a lash, "we _will_ take every available precaution before proceeding."

"I...yes, of course," she told him, stung that he would think her careless as to not think of the team's safety first. "Pidge...just how far are we away from the distress beacon?"

Pidge held up the handheld scanner and quickly began tapping in the configurations they would need for the journey.

"Hmm, at least ten hours, give or take. Just enough time for the Lions to recharge and give us some rest and enjoy," he shuddered slightly at the last part, "the rest of those drule rations. Man, I think dirt would taste better than whatever those things are made of."

"Cool, down time it is. Y'know I might be able to whip up something edible..." Lance looked at the rest of the team, "anyone else up for some food."

Hunk laughed and patted his stomach, "Always. Even if it Drule food."

"Sure...," replied Pidge who was considerably less enthusiastic than Hunk.

"I...I think I'll try and get some rest, I don't feel very hungry." Allura gave a feeble smile and turned, instinctively, to Keith.

Keith refused to look at her and merely shook his head and Lance's inquiry.

"Great, more for the rest of us!" he rubbed his hands together with manic glee, much to Pidge's dismay.

Allura wanted to laugh at his antics, she knew he was trying to diffuse the tension in the air...but she could barely muster a smile and quickly made her way back to her borrowed quarters and quickly shut the door behind her.

Her pet mice, a gift from her late father, looked at her with what she could only describe as sympathy.

 _So even robotic mice feel sorry for me. I truly must look terrible._

"Hey, she whispered to them as they came up her, chattering in their own language, "why don't you go and find Pidge? He seems lonely and I...I need some time to myself, okay?"

She didn't really know if they understood her, but they nodded their heads and quickly left her room, giving her the privacy she had asked for.

The tears built in the back of her eyes as the crushing silence bore down upon her. She had gotten what she wanted. The team had decided to go look for the missing arusian ship and possibly a location for Sven...but she was completely and utterly miserable.

They had ten hours before they would reach the ship and she knew she should sleep...but she couldn't.

Not after the way she had handled Keith.

She needed to talk to him, to explain why she had to do this.

"But why do I need to explain myself?" she muttered angrily as she paced the bedroom, "if he trusted me I shouldn't have to explain!"

She stopped and shook her head. That outburst had sounded more like a petulant child than a grown woman. Trust, she knew, was a fragile thing. Easily broken and hard to earn back once it shattered.

She knew, deep down, that Keith's trust in her was shaken when he had asked her what had happened with Sven...and she had turned away from him, refusing to answer.

"If I tell him...I break the faith of my people, but if I don't tell him...will I lose him forever?" She had already broken one taboo by showing him her healing powers. At that time, she had not regretted the decision and she still did not. But to tell him the secret of Voltron that had been hidden for a millennium...

She didn't know what to do...to be the queen her people needed, or be the woman that Keith deserved. With a sigh that was more akin to a sob, Allura threw herself on her bed, hugging the pillow tight to her chest.

"Actually, I do know, it really isn't that hard," she murmured, her voice husky from holding back the tears, "I just don't want to face it."

She knew, had known since she was a small child, that to be a good leader to your people meant that sometimes you had to give up personal sacrifices to better their lives.

She thought she had made enough...but apparently she had been wrong.

It was just that she...

Allura's head whipped up from her bed as a knock came from her door. She quickly dashed the tears from the corner of her eyes and put on a mask of calm, forcing a small smile to her face.

"Coming!" she called out, sliding off of the mattress. She hoped it wasn't Lance trying to get her to come down to eat or Pidge wanting to go over coordinates once more.

"I was just..." she stopped when the door slid open and revealed Keith once more towering over her. "Keith...I, that is Commander," her voice sounded breathless as though she had just for miles, "what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"Can I come in?" There was a forced politeness to his words, a tension in his body that hadn't been there before.

 _He isn't certain of his welcome anymore,_ she realized as her eyes widened as she took an immediate step back. "I...yes, of course. Come in."

Her reaction was shaky as she had not expected to see him so soon. They had been so angry at each other, she had been certain he wouldn't have wanted to see her again until it was time for the mission.

 _So then, why is he here?_

He prowled about her room like some caged tiger, the taunt energy of his body filling the tiny space that it danced along her skin, making her acutely aware of the last time she had been alone in a bedroom with him.

Allura bit hard on her lip as the shock of desire lit through her at the remembrance of that time on the _Explorer._

It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had lain in Keith's bed, exhausted but utterly content to stay in his arms. She had felt, then, that she had belonged there. That they had belonged together.

 _How then,_ she thought with aching sorrow as she watched him pace her room, _"did it go so wrong?"_

Allura blinked, startled to hear her thoughts said out loud...yet it wasn't her voice.

"Keith," his name trembled on her lips and he was suddenly standing only meters from her, "What did you...say just now?" _Was I imagining it? Did he really say that?_

"I said," he reiterated with a soft growl, "how did this go so wrong between us?"

Allura pressed a hand to her throat, as if that alone would dispel the lump that had shortened her breathing. "I...I don't know..."

She turned away from, unable to stop the tears that filled her eyes. She hated to cry, hated it! Yet that was all she seemed to do lately. She just felt so...helpless.

"Allura turn around and let me see you."

There was an ache in his voice, a subtle vulnerability that pulled at her chaotic emotions for this male that made her turn and look at him, even as a single tear slid down her face.

He moved, as though to reach for her, but instead he clenched his fist and left the distance between them. It was barely a meter, and yet it could have been the distance of an ocean the way they stood before each other.

She with her hand still to her throat and he with his fists at his side.

"Let me ask you something and I want the truth. No dance of words, no evasions."

Allura swallowed hard but nodded her head. She owed him that much, at least.

"Do you love Sven? I don't mean in friendship or family ties. I am asking you if you love him the way a woman loves a man."

There were shadows in his eyes and a stillness to his body that told Allura that he was bracing himself for her answer...

...as though the words she spoke next might shatter him to pieces.

"No," she found herself shaking, her arms closing about her body as if in protection, "No, I don't love him that way. I have never loved him that way."

Several emotions chased themselves in his eyes, some flashing by so fast that she could not catch all of them.

The one that stood out the most, that dominated his face, was relief.

Utter relief that she did not love Sven.

"Then why?" his words were soft yet no less powerful even as he held his body oh-so-still, "why are you doing all of this for him?"

Allura closed her eyes, wishing that he would not ask that question.

"I...I told you," she was still shaking, her knuckles white against her skin as she gripped her arms, "he's our friend..."

"Cut the bullshit Allura. He practically ripped the team apart before pulling his Kamikaze stunt. You forget I was there that night he attacked us, I saw the way he spoke to you."

Allura opened her eyes and stared at him, the relief on his face had been chased away by hot, hard anger.

 _If I tell him, I break faith with my people. If I stay silent...I lose him for good._

"Do you remember, back on the _Explorer,_ how I explained to you my gift of healing?" The words fell from her lips, surprising even herself. She had not thought to bring up that particular time.

It seemed liked nothing more than a dream from another life.

She saw the surprise alight his eyes, quickly chased by wary suspicion.

"I remember, you told me that you broke taboo by showing me. What of it..." Keith stopped mid-sentence, slowly realizing what he had just said.

 _She doesn't love Sven, she already admitted that. Yet she won't speak of what happened between her and Sven that suddenly made him have a change of heart...those times that we couldn't feel her through Voltron..._

"Allura, are you telling me this has something to do with Voltron? With Arus?"

Her silence was his answer.

Keith ran a hand through his hair and blew out a hard breath. "Damn. What a time for secrets."

"Keith...I..." she began but he waved her off and sat heavily on her bed.

"Stop." he told he with a resigned sigh, "you've made it quite clear that you can't talk about it. Guess we don't really belong after all."

"No!" she cried out and crossed the room, flinging herself on the floor next to where he sat so she could bury her face in the side of his leg. "You _do_ belong on Arus, all of you!"

"Allura..." he lift his hand, then cursing under his breath, he laid it on the silken mass of her hair.

She made it hard for him to remember that she was only nineteen. Her strength, her knowledge, that air of self-assurance she wore like a cloak about her made one forget how young she truly was.

At nineteen he had already joined the military and the only responsibility he had was making sure he followed the commands of the senior officers so that others wouldn't fail.

At nineteen Allura had managed to hold the scattered remains of her planet together, stand up against the Drule, survive not one, but several Robeast attacks, and handle the diplomatic nuances that made her the ruling sovereign of Arus.

"It's not because you don't belong on Arus," she told him quietly as he stroked her hair, unwilling to move from her slightly awkward spot by his legs, "even Coran does not know about this."

That paused his hand mid-stroke, "Wait, you're saying your chief adviser doesn't know about this either?"

Allura shook her head, her braids gently tapping his legs in rhythm to the movement. "No...only those of royal blood...and the science-priests who studied the science and sorcery of Voltron."

"But they were all..." he stopped before he said the word but Allura lifted her face from his leg and gave him a weary sort of smile.

His hand was still resting in cool silk of her bound hair.

"Dead. Yes. Those who studied the art of Voltron were put to death, along with their acolytes. Zarkon feared that if any were left remaining, knowing the secrets of Voltron, then the Knight could be resurrected. I, as far as I am aware, am the last of the royal line of Arus."

Keith gave her a searching look. "You are aware? You told me you're an only child, correct? The same as your father?"

"Yes, from as far back as we can remember, the royal house of Arus has only ever born a single child. No more and no less. However," she gave a slight, pained smile at that, "my mother was not of Arus originally."

Keith gave her a blank look. "I'm missing something here."

"My mother, who became queen of Arus, was not born to Arus. She was from another planet called Pollux."

"Pollux," the name sounded vaguely familiar to Keith, then it hit him. "That planet, its on the far side of the drule empire right?"

Allura nodded her head, wishing he would continue to stroke her hair. She felt...calmer, when he was touching her. As though he were her anchor in this storm that had become her life.

"Then how?" he began and once more he saw that flash of happiness in her sapphire gaze.

"Mother was a diplomat and when...Zarkon opened the borders between the ninth kingdom and the rest of the galaxy, it allowed for peaceful trades and explorers to cross that part of the drule empire. My mother was one of those diplomats. It was how she met father. They fell in love and she agreed to stay on Arus as their queen."

"But she wasn't born on Arus? I thought Arusian royalty married their own people?" For some reason Keith was having a difficult time with this conversation. His wits felt scattered and he was glad that he was sitting down.

There was no anger, no outrage on her face, but faint amusement at his words. "Not at all. In fact since the time of my many greats-grandfather, Altair the Just, the royal line of Arus has always chosen their co-ruler, or consort, from beyond the borders of Arus."

"So your mother just...left Pollux?" It was the only thing he could think to say. Her words had stolen the wind right out of him.

"In a way, yes. She left behind two siblings both older than herself. A brother, who is some seven years older than mother and sister who was born exactly one year before mother."

Her previous words suddenly made sense. "So if your mother's siblings had children then..."

"Exactly," she finished for him knowing where his words were leading, "they would be my cousins, and therefore carry the royal blood blood of Arus through my mother's marriage. But," she gave a tiny shrug, "that is all speculation. When Zarkon closed his borders and annexed Arus, we lost contact with Pollux. I...haven't heard from mother's family in thirteen years. Until I learn otherwise, I must assume I am the last of the royal line of Arus."

Keith closed his eyes, her words making clear her desperate need to find the lost Arusian ship. If the ship was still halfway salvageable, and _if_ the communications relay's were still working, then she could use that technology to contact her missing people who were not on or around Arus during the massacre.

 _She could use that to contact her missing relatives, assuming she has any left._

It was a powerful thing, he knew, wanting to belong to a family.

"No wonder you want to risk everything..." he murmured quietly, but her ears picked up on his soft words nevertheless.

"Keith," she reached out and gripped his hand that was not still resting in her hair, "I _have_ to. I promise you, I am not doing this to get anyone killed. Do you honestly think I want to see anyone else I hold dear, die in front of my eyes?"

"No," he acknowledged, "but I also know how driven you can be and sometimes that can blind a person to dangers."

His voice was husky and their positions to each other, him looking down upon her with she at his feet looking up at him, made her aware of just how intimate they were being with each other.

The pulse in her body sped up and her heart doubled its speed as his midnight eyes locked with hers and she saw when he too, became aware of just how close in proximity they were to each other.


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's Note:** Update! Yes it is a short one, but I thought that you, my faithful readers, would appreciate a quicker update than waiting another two months. Or so I hope anyway. As always all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world. Also, on a side, as I have warned previously, though this is rated T, you really should be at least 16 to read this. That is all.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** Love it? Hate it? Let me know!

"You know I'm scared

And I know you're scared too

But the miracle is

that despite

The terrifying tragedies

that have plagued

our mending hearts

We are still trying

We are telling each other

that we are worth the risk

In the midst of

catastrophes falling

all around us

...we are still us."

Chrissie Pinney

"Allura..."

The princess of Arus closed her eyes at the sound of her name on his lips. Once again his voice held shadows and secrets, a touch of midnight to that deep timbre. His voice had sounded like that before, this enigmatic male whom she had sung _Talimer's Loss_ to nearly a year ago, high atop the castle walls.

Her head had been full of nightmares and he had been there to chase them away. That kiss, that first exploration of mutual desire between them was one of her most poignant memories. She lifted the long, golden lashes from her eyes and did not try to hide her need for him.

"We've done this before, you and I."

Keith needed no reminder of that night on the _Explorer._ It was branded into his mind. The feel of her silken skin beneath his hands, the rush of breath from her lips as his mouth found the hollow of her neck that made her writhe beneath him.

His fingers clenched in her hair at the tactile memory.

She did not protest his rough treatment, instead she lifted her face higher, offering up her lips to his in the most blatant invitation she could manage, given her current placement at his side.

"Allura," again her name nearly a ragged plea on his lips and her eyes blazed in her pale face.

"Kiss me or get out."

It was a bold demand coming from her. She had never allowed herself to voice her own desire for Keith in their strange courtship.

She, who had never known a man's love, had been happy to let Keith lead her on this sensual dance but now she was done being led.

She needed him, _craved_ him in a way that went beyond simple desire. He was in her blood, her soul and she knew that that no matter how much time passed, how many years she lived, he would always be there.

He had not moved an inch in the face of her aggressive statement and that part of her that clung to his existence, seemed to fold into itself.

 _He doesn't want me anymore._

A ragged breath escaped her lips in an effort to stifle the crushing pain of his rejection and she jerked her head out of his hand, leaping to her feet.

"I..." she began to speak but the breath abruptly left her lungs as her wrist was grabbed and she unexpectedly found herself lying flat on her back on the bed.

It all happened within a matter of seconds and she was still trying process how, when she had been on her feet just a moment ago, was now flat on her back.

"You can't just tell me to kiss you and then expect me to let you leave, did you?"

Allura looked up at his shadowed face and blinked at the lethal purr in his voice. His obsidian eyes were once more those dark mirrors and all she saw in his gaze was her own wide-eyed reflection.

"I...you didn't move or say anything, so what else was I to do!"

Her voice sounded panicked and it helped none when his lips curved into that wicked and intimate smile that she had seen once, and only once, in the cavern where they had bathed together.

His head dipped and Allura's body arched, as though hit by lightning, when his mouth bit down on the sensitive column of her neck still exposed by her clothing.

"Keith!"

Her voice was breathless as her fingers tangled in his hair, anchoring him to her as his mouth ravished her skin.

It was true, she had demanded that he kiss her or leave, but she had forgotten to mention where at the time.

He lifted his head, eyes blazing and she was back in his arms, his mouth devouring hers until all she could was cling him, meeting his voracious need with matching intensity.

 _Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop._

It was the litany that danced in her mind, a mantra that she clung to as his fingers tore at the bindings in her hair until it fell about her in rippling, golden waves.

"I," he nipped at her lips, giving her a second to take a gulp of air, "prefer your hair down."

It was the last coherent sentence he would utter that she would understand.

He broke contact with her mouth long enough that in one, swift move he had his shirt off and cradling her back in his arms.

His mouth once more slanted over hers as his fingers made short work of peeling the layers of clothing off of her body. Soon enough she too was stripped from the waist down.

His hands still at her waist and he released her mouth to look at her midnight eyes that stared back at him with barely restrained anticipation.

"Last chance to tell me to stop."

The words were forced through gritted teeth, but he said them anyway. He had to make sure that she was fully aware of what they were about to do.

There would be no going back after this. No more games, no more pretenses.

"Don't stop."

The words had barely passed through her lips when his mouth crashed over hers, his fingers tugging none-to-gently at the rest of her clothing.

 _What is it to love a man?_

It was not until she had met Keith, all those months ago, that she had begun asking herself that question.

It would seem, she was finally going to get an answer.


	36. Chapter 36

**Author's Update:** Woohoo back to back updates! I had originally planned to release chapter 34-36 all together, but you know what they say about the best laid plans...anyway please enjoy and as ever, all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world. Also, again the side not, if you are **not** at least 16 you had better turn back now. You have been warned.

 **Reviews! Reviews!** I would truly love if any of my guest readers would leave me a comment. I can only grow as a writer if I have feedback.

"And in the darkness,

darkness they became

entwined as one soul...

fueled with love

passion like a shooting

star burning an eternity...

burning bright in the

darkest night leaving fire

in their wake..."

U.M

 _Breaths mingling...finger's entwining...the press of his body upon her own..._

 _"Keith!"_

 _Sweet piercing pain...ebbing away until only fire remained..._

 _"Allura...Allura..."_

 _Harsh breathing...moon-pale fingers tremble as they push back midnight-hair soaked in sweat..._

 _"I'm okay...I'm okay..."_

 _Glistening bodies amid the dying light...voices intertwining until one cannot tell where the other leaves off..._

Allura awoke to a heaviness about her body and as she tried to shift position, she winced as she felt an unfamiliar and tender pain.

She blinked, trying to remember when she had fallen asleep.

"Are you alright?"

Allura turned on her back and realized two things at that moment.

One; Keith was sharing her bed. Two; she wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing beneath the covers.

 _Oh...oh!_

She blinked again as memories from earlier hours flashed through her mind.

His hand reached over and lifted a lock of hair from her eyes, brushing it tenderly away from her face.

"Allura?"

She captured his hand with her own and kept in place next to her face, closing her eyes as she savored the feel of him.

"I'm fine. I just..."

"A bit sore?"

His voice was soft, warm with the afterglow of their lovemaking.

Allura opened her eyes to see him smiling at her and the last, fleeting feelings of awkwardness disappeared.

She nodded her head and moved closer until she lay in his arms, her head resting softly on his chest.

"I didn't expect...that is..." she closed her eyes and sighed.

Keith used his free arm to stroke her hair, even as his other arm was curved protectively over her waist.

"It won't be like that again, I promise. It gets better."

Allura let out a soft laugh of astonishment. "It gets better?" She couldn't understand how anything could get better than what she had experienced in his arms. Yes, she was a bit sore but the feelings...the fire in her veins, the feel of his body possessing hers...

She remembered screaming his name as it felt as though her body had shattered and then reformed around his.

Keith's arms held her impossibly closer. She was in for another surprise as she heard his soft laughter and felt the smile in his voice. "Yes."

Her body trembled in building anticipation even as her heart threatened to burst from her chest. "I don't know if I could handle this 'better' of yours Keith but," there was a shakiness to her voice as she spoke but when he looked down at her, there was no mistaking the naked desire in her eyes, "I am more than willing to try it again."

"I think that can be arranged," he murmured gently, his voice like liquid velvet, wrapping around her until she felt utterly boneless in his arms. He cupped her chin in his hands and she willingly lifted her lips to his.

The press of his mouth against hers as his hands began, once more, exploring her lithesome curves promised to ignite the slumbering flames in her blood and Allura lifted her arms to wrap around his neck...

 _ **BEEP!**_

Both Keith and Allura jumped as the comn went off in her bedroom.

 _"Allura? You awake?"_

There was no mistaking Pidge's young, slightly accented, tone. Allura blew out a trembling breath, and with much reluctance, disengaged herself from Keith's arms to press the relay button next to her bed.

"I'm...I'm awake Pidge. What is it?"

 _"Oh man...you weren't awake, were you? Sorry to disturb you but I thought you might want to know were just under two hours from out destination. Lance knocked on your door a couple of times to see if you were hungry but when you didn't answer, we figured you were dead to the world."_

Allura couldn't believe that eight hours had already passed; there had been times where it felt as though seconds had only passed and others had stretched into eternity.

 _Was I so wrapped up in Keith that I didn't hear Lance at my door or was I simply that exhausted?_

 _"Um, Allura? You still there?"_

Allura realized that she hadn't spoken a work since Pidge stopped talking.

"I'm still here. Sorry...you're right, I was still dozing when you chimed. I'm not completely awake, truth be told."

 _"Yeah...I'm really sorry about."_

The boy sounded so sheepish that Allura could only laugh softly.

"It's okay Pidge. Thank you for calling me with the update."

 _"Sure, no problem. So...um, are you hungry? Amazingly enough Lance actually managed to get drule rations to taste not like dirt anymore."_

Allura turned to Keith and when she saw the dark, smoldering shadows still lurking in his eyes she had to release to relay button to take in a shaky breath.

"You...you can't look at me like that when I'm talking to Pidge."

She sounded slightly breathless much to his smug amusement.

"Then I guess I won't look at you while you're talking to Pidge."

Huffing out a breath, for there was a glint in his eyes that made her think he was up to something, she turned back and hit the button.

"Sorry Pidge, I..." her words abruptly cut off as she hissed out a startled breath.

 _"Allura? You okay?"_

Allura had gasped for when she had turned her back to Keith, he had quietly moved across the bed and was now trailing hot kisses down her spine.

His hands had her waist gently pinned so that she could not move away.

"Y..yes. I'm fine. I'll..ah...get food later."

 _"You sure...you sound...different. Maybe I should send Lance to get you some food if you're still tired?"_

"No!" she practically shouted the word at the startled young man. "I mean," she inhaled, shot Keith a look of retribution, "I don't need you to," she let out a silent gasp as Keith to trace his hands lower around her hips, "send Lance. I will get food when I'm hungry."

 _"Okay..., well I'll let you get some more sleep. Should I give you a wake up call?"_

"Not. Necessaary." she pulled the words through gritted teeth as Keith teased her body with his hands and mouth, "I can wake myself up."

 _"Okay well..."_

Allura released the button, cutting Pidge off, hoping he would think that she was just tired and not try to call her again or worse...send Lance to check on her.

"Keith!"

She had but a moment to call out his name when he tumbled her back into bed.

"That...wasn't...nice!"

Each word was punctuated by tongue, tangling kisses that left her at the end once more feeling as though her had turned her bones to water and utterly compliant to his demands.

"I am finding that when it comes to you, I am jealous man."

His words startled a laugh out of her.

"It was _Pidge,_ our team member? He is like a brother to me."

"Hmm."

He looked unconvinced, as with his mouth pressed together and his hair disheveled the way it was, Allura thought he had never seem so utterly desirable at that moment.

She lift up slightly, angling her body so that she could kiss his jawline.

"Don't be mad," she murmured, pitching her voice to that husky tone that she knew would get his attention, "or I won't let you kiss me anymore..."

Allura yelped, half out of surprise and half laughing as he suddenly growled at her for that comment and swung her up in his arms.

They were out of the bed and he on his feet before she knew what had happened.

"Keith, put me down! What are you doing?"

Her words carried no heat, for she could not keep the laughter out of her voice at his playful antics.

 _Who knew Keith could be like this?_

Allura thought she was very much going to enjoy being Keith's lover.

"I think, after that threat, you need a good soaking. Preferably under _cold_ water."

"What! No, put me down now!"

She struggled in his arms, but it was no use. His arms were like bands about her body and the fact that they were both still naked had not escaped her attention.

She twisted in his arms and gasped hard as her body protested the sharp movement.

Keith immediately put her on her feet, instantly hearing the pain in her voice.

"Oooh..." she put a hand just below her navel, the inner muscles of her legs like jelly.

"Here, lets put you back into bed."

She was back in his arms and within moments she was lying on the bed, the sheet tucked around her with just her slim, white shoulders and the riot of golden waves around her body.

"Keith," she grasped his hand, stilling his movements as he moved away from her. "Where are you going? Are you not coming back to bed?"

He searched her face for a moment, his dark eyes reflecting none of his emotions and gave her a brief smile.

All signs of his former playfulness were gone. "I need to shower and get out of here. You heard Pidge, we'll be there in about ninety minutes. You should get some more rest and eat before we begin our mission."

"But I...," she squared her shoulders and told herself that she had promised to not hide from this, "I want you to stay."

Gently, as though she were made of glass, he smoothed a lock of hair away from her face. "I know...but the team doesn't know about us, yet. This is not the time to tell them nor do they need to find us like...this."

He motioned with his hand to her naked body and his obvious state of undress.

She nearly bristled at his words, but remembered what he had just told her. "Yet...?"

He gave her slight smile and in a gallant gesture from ancient times, picked up her hand and kissed the back of it.

"We will tell them. The team, your people. I will not hide from this. I want everyone to know that you are my lover."

"Am I only..that? Just your lover?"

Perhaps she should not have spoken those words just yet, but after making love to this man she _had_ to know if he saw her as only a woman to warm his bed.

Keith traced the arch of her cheekbone, his touch more akin to a feather's caress then human hands. "You are the keeper of my heart Allura."

Tears gathered in her eyes. _He didn't speak the words I wanted to hear, but that is enough._

It was more than enough.

For now.


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's Note: Update! Yeah I know I am super slow in updates, however this with be a three part update! Yes you read correctly, Chapter 37, 38, and 39 are all being updated one after another, so consider this my notes for all three chaps so you can just get to the story. Again all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.**

 **Reviews! Reviews! Reviews!**

"Forgive me

if I stumble and fall

for I know not how

to love too well

I am clumsy

and my words

do not form as I wish

so let me kiss you instead

and let my lips

paint for you

all the pictures

that my clumsy heart

cannot."

Atticus

"Keith, wait."

Allura had wrapped the sheet about about her body, forgoing the many layers of clothing she had worn and the flightsuit she would soon have to wear in a few hours. For now the simple sheet, tucked around the slender curves of her body, was enough.

Keith had emerged from the shower, the red pants slung low over his hips, his chest still bare and his hair tousled around his face from the towel he had just used.

"What is it Allura? We have just over an hour before we arrive. You need to eat and I need to check in with the others."

"I need to talk to you. There are things that you need to know."

Allura had decided that it was time to tell him the truth about what had happened between her and Sven...and about the secret of Voltron.

Keith gave her a bemused look and with a silent sigh, he crossed the room and pulled her in his arms.

She nestled her head against the hard warmth of his chest, wishing that the universe would leave them alone, if only for a little while longer.

"I know that suddenly leaving you like this is a bit...abrupt, but it's for the best. We'll have plenty of time to talk when we get back to Arus."

 _He thinks I'm still upset about him leaving me so soon._

Well she was disappointed, yes, but that wasn't the reason why she needed to talk to him.

"No Keith, it's not about that."

She looked up at him and he raised his eyebrow at her, clearly not believing her words. A slash of red colored her cheekbones.

It would seem she could still blush around him after all.

"Alright, I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that you won't stay longer with me...but I do understand your reasoning. Truly," she pressed on when he still looked unconvinced, "but what I have to tell you has nothing to do with our recent..."

She bit her lip, wondering how to phrase it correctly without hurting him.

"Lovemaking?" He interjected, a wry twist to his lips, "because I will tell you that was more than sex to me."

Her eyes softened even as her heart gave a hard jolt to her body at his words. "It was more to me as well."

"Good." He leaned down and captured her mouth, her lips opening wide to tangle her tongue with his, moaning softly as his fingers tunneled into her hair, pulling her hard up against his body.

When he released her mouth, allowing to take a lungful of air, it took her a moment to recall their previous conversation.

 _His mouth is not good for my concentration,_ she thought perverse amusement. That amusement fled when he set her out of his arms, albeit with much reluctance.

"Keith, what I have to say,"

"Will have to wait until our mission is complete," he cut in as he pulled his shirt over his head. "You chose this, remember?"

"Yes of course I remember," there was a touch of irritation to her lilting voice, "but this is important as well."

"Then I will tell the others to abort the mission and we'll have more than enough time talk."

Allura could only stare at him, not believing he had just spoken those words to her.

"Of course we're not aborting! I told you, we need to salvage that ship and find Sven."

Keith shot her an irritated look, _so much for the afterglow,_ and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Allura," he strove to keep his voice neutral because he really didn't want to start another fight with her just before their mission, "right now our time is limited. If what you have to tell me is that important, then it needs more than the few minutes I have to spare before I check in with the rest of the team and begin prepping for the mission."

Allura sighed and knew she had lost this argument. Keith was right, she should have told him this sooner... _but at the time I had been so confused between my duty as a queen and my desire to be a woman._

Now, after the intimacy they had just shared, it had brought clarity to her mind. She just prayed that Keith was right and that they would find the time they needed to talk.

"You're right, I'm sorry. You do what you need to for the mission...we can talk once we're back on Arus."

Keith frowned at her sudden capitulation but did not argue further with her. However the look of quiet misery on her face tore at his heart. He knew, despite her protestation, that his words had hurt her.

"I'm sorry too," he apologized, going back over to her side. He cupped her face in his hand, his thumb tenderly stroking her cheekbone, "I'm still certain this is a bad idea and I'm taking it out on you."

"Well you were right, this was my idea," she replied and turned her head to place a delicate kiss in the palm of his hand, "and I forgive you. I guess we both still have a lot to learn about being with one another."

"We'll learn together."

His words eased her heart and this time she was the one who gently pushed him away.

"Go. You need to talk to the rest of the team and I need to get ready as well."

"I'll meet you shortly."

Allura watched him walk away from her, praying that this would be the last time she had to see his retreating back.

The door slid shut with a finality and despite her words to Keith, she did not immediately get ready for their mission.

Instead she walked over to where a small window allowed her to look into the swirling voice that was space.

She placed her fingers on the cold glass and closed her eyes.

 _I wish I felt as confident now as I did nearly ten hours ago,_ she couldn't help but feel that, perhaps, Keith was right. This was starting to feel like a bad idea.

 _But how can I go home and tell my people that yes we found one of our ships afloat in space but was too much the coward to try and salvage it._

It also spoke nothing of Sven's plight. Yes he had betrayed them to the drule, but in the end he had saved all of our their lives.

 _After knowing the tragedies in his life, how could I just turn my back, not knowing if he is alive or dead?_

It was times like this that she wished desperately that her father was still alive. She was much in need of his wisdom and guidance.

 _I miss you father, now more than ever._


	38. Chapter 38

"The most dangerous

woman of all

is the one who refuses

to rely on your sword

to save her

because she carries

her own."

R.H Sin

Allura arrived at the command center with a good ten minutes to spare until the start of their mission. She was still buckling her utility belt around her waist when she heard Keith's voice already speaking to the others.

It made her heart clench, even now, to hear his familiar cadence. Only an hour had passed since they had departed and she missed him already.

"...unnecessary risk," Keith was telling the team, "we don't know what has happened to that ship or how long its been out here."

"So...you're saying that this could possibly be a trap set by the drule to lure us in?" Lance asked with a wry twist of his lips, "Great, we might get killed trying to rescue a traitor, sounds like fun."

"We don't know that," replied Hunk, who gave nod of his head when Allura slipped in the room, "all we know is that the ship shows sign of being attacked. If that's the case, it will probably mean its on lockdown."

"Which means what exactly?" Lance asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"We can manually override the system once Pidge and I get to the helm but as for security..." Hunk sighed and Keith stepped in.

"We'll be going in blind," he told everyone, and Allura felt a silent shudder go through her at the cold displeasure in his voice, "we won't know what, or who, will be waiting for us on the other side."

"Right, onto our impending doom it is."

Keith cut him a hard look and Lance held up his hands, swallowing hard.

"Okay, everyone to your Lions. We go in five."

Allura tried to catch Keith's eye as they headed for the hanger but, at that moment, Keith was all Commander and had no time for her.

Once more the thread of anxiety flitted through her and she wondered, yet again, if she was making the right choice by doing this.

The team was in space and heading for the derelict ship. Out here in the cold, void of space the ship looked...ominous.

Lance gave a low whistle as the ship seemed to crawl through the vacuum, as though phantom hands were guiding it.

"Umm...it is me or does that thing feel...creepy."

"It's just a ship Lance," Hunk replied, but there was a hesitation in his voice.

"Uh huh," Lance rejoined, "you know I think I saw this in a movie...didn't end so well for the crew..."

"Everything reminds you of a movie," Pidge pointed out with a forced laugh, glad that no one could see how his hands shook slightly on his controls.

"Enough," Keith cut it as the comn went silent, "Allura are you _sure_ about this?"

Allura heard and felt the doubt in his words. Despite everything they had done these past few hours, he still didn't believe in her.

It made her angry, his doubt.

"Let's do this." Her words were resolute. Despite her own internal misgivings, she was not about to back down now. Her people needed that technology and she had to make absolute certain, beyond a doubt, that Sven wasn't there or if he was, then they were bringing him back with them and having done with all of this.

"Fine. Mission is a go."

They docked with relative ease, the back hull of the ship opening as they made their entry.

"So," commented Lance as his feet hit the steel floor, "this is...inviting."

The hull was pitch black, save for the emergency lighting that was running on bare impulse power.

"Pidge, Hunk, go see if you can find the helm and restore the power to this ship. After all the work you two have done on Arus, the system should look the most familiar to you," Allura told the two engineers. Allura looked at Lance, who had a look of surprise on his face at her stern mien, and to Keith, who once more held his emotions behind reflective, obsidian eyes.

"Lance, Keith you're with me. We should go and find the living quarters and see if anyone is here."

When none of the men made to move, she gave them a cool, assessing look. "This is an Arusian ship, so I am quite familiar with its design. If anyone has objections, speak up now, otherwise do as I ask."

"Fine," Keith conceded and walked over to a nearby wall where several steel pipes lay. "Our firepower is next to zero, so these should give us some manner of protection."

He held one out for Lance, who took it with much reluctance, and waited for Allura to take the one from his hand.

She gave him a questioning look but the minute shake of his head told her this was _not_ the time for her questions.

Her lips pressed thin, she took the proffered item.

They came to a fork in the proverbial road and the men look to Allura.

Allura closed her eyes, pulling up from memory a detailed map of an Arusian exploration ship.

"Hunk, Pidge, take the left path and go about two hundred meters, then go to the right. Follow that path and it should take you the helm. Keith, Lance, we need to this path," she pointed to the north, "it should give way to the main hall, that will lead us to the elevators."

"Elevators?" Lance inquired, wondering if he had heard right. "Um, this ship has almost power so how is that useful?"

"The elevators are all connected to the living quarters, and even without power, we can use the service ladders."

"Handy

"I'll lead."

Allura looked at Keith, about to tell him that since she knew the layout she should be the one to lead, but looking into the cold shadow of his eyes, something in her hesitated.

"...fine."

 _Oh boy,_ thought Lance as he walked behind the two, _those two need to just kiss and make up. It would make them happy, hell it would make_ me _happy._

Lance, seeing the ire flash in Keith's eyes and the remote expression on Allura's face, made him assume that Keith had not taken him up on his advice.

 _Your loss, my friend,_ Lance thought sadly. He knew that Allura didn't feel for him the way she felt for Keith, hell you would have had to be blind not to see the way she gazed after their stone-eyed leader, but that didn't mean he was about to give up on her. If Keith was hell bent on breaking her heart, he would be there to pick up the pieces.

"Hey guys," He called out when he saw the markings of an access panel, "I think we can use this to get to those ladders."

"Good eyes, you take one side, I'll take the other. Allura stand back, we don't know what's going to be in here."

A slash of heat across her face but Allura backed up and watched as Keith and Lance pulled the cold metal doors apart.

Much to her silent relief, the awaiting ladder was indeed, there.

It was also a very tiny space.

Lance, she noted, was looking slightly green.

"Man," he mumbled softly, "that is one small space."

Allura realized at that moment Lance must have a fear of small spaces.

"Here, I'll go up."

Lance turned to her, more than willing to take her pole when Keith grabbed her by the wrist.

"Wait. It's too dangerous."

Allura gave him an incredulous look. "Commander, it's a _ladder_. How dangerous can it be? Flying Blue Lion is more dangerous than this."

Something hot, yet filled with infinite shadows, chased through his eyes.

"Yes, and I remember what happened the last time we went up against the drule."

"Oh boy..." Lance whispered and quietly backed up. It looked like Allura and Keith were finally going to get whatever it was that was bugging them off their chests, here and now.

A rush of color lit over her alabaster skin and she looked back at him with equal shock and fury.

"This is _not_ the same thing."

Keith was unwilling to be moved, the vision of Allura coming out of the Lion with blood on her face still made his blood run cold. "It could still be a trap," he warned her, trying to rein his temper, "You could get hurt...or worse."

 _She could die and this time I don't think I would survive another death of someone I love._

"I'll go first, make sure everything is clear."

"Keith, I am _not_ the helpless maiden in need of protecting. I do know how to defend myself."

Once, he would have acquiesced to her demands. She was after all, the ruling body of Arus, royalty and he was naught but a soldier.

 _But,_ he thought darkly, _that was before she placed her life and trust in my hands._

"I am _not_ willing to take those risks with your life anymore."

Allura couldn't believe what she was hearing. _Does he believe that just because we...we made love that he now had the right to dictate my every move?_

Well if that what was he called 'partnership' then he was in for a seriously rude awakening.

"I wasn't _asking,_ " she told him and both Lance and Keith could only stare as her impossibly blue eyes began to glow, ever to faintly, with light. "I am _telling_ you that those risks are not for you to decide."

With that she threw off Keith's grip and, snatching her pole from Lance's numb fingers, began to ascend the ladder.

"Dude," Lance hissed, grabbing Keith's arm, "stop. That is one seriously pissed woman. Let her cool off, alone, before both of you do or say something stupid."

"I..." Keith looked at the ladder, watching Allura's slender body retreat further away and his fist clenched hard.

Lance tightened his grip on Keith's arm, "Listen to me, for once! Allura isn't a child and hell she's tougher then most men I know so leave her be. We can secure this floor and then go after her."

Keith shook off Lance's arm but did not climb the ladder. His overwhelming need to protect Allura was clashing with his duty as leader of the team.

 _Damn, Lance is right._

"Fine, let's go secure this floor."

Lance heaved out a breath, thinking for sure he was going to have to wrestle Keith to the floor on this issue.

"Great, after you!"


	39. Chapter 39

**Update:** Ok, I know this a bit weird that I replaced an existing chapter. Also I haven't updated in a LONG time so please forgive me. I have been working on the story but as I reviewed the last chapter I realized that I hadn't completed it the way I needed to in order to continue the story line, hence the replaced chapter. MOST of the chapter is still the same, just the last part to the ending is different. Please be patient with me as I will be posting more very soon.

 **Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and who has encouraged me to continue with Keith and Allura's story, it is my inspiration and I am humbled and grateful to everyone who has been following along with me.**

"If someone is cruel to you

because of your soft disposition

and generosity,

respond to their poison

with equal parts sweet honey,

equal parts dangerous ferocity."

Nikita Gill

Allura stalked through the foreboding halls, the metal pole in hand clenched so tightly that she could feel her skin straining around it.

 _Damn him,_ she thought with furious anger, _I thought we had finally come to an understanding! How_ dare _he imply that I cannot take care of myself. That I need to look after me as if I were some child?_

 _True,_ whispered that dark voice in deep recess of her mind, _so what if you gave him your trust, your love? So what that you nearly died because of Yurak, that he remembers his fiancee dying on him. That doesn't matter, because he_ dared _to try and give you his strength and protection and you treated as the gravest of insults._

Allura stopped cold. Yes Keith had been overprotective and some of his worries had seemed outrageous, but what if that was his only way of showing her just how much he cared for her?

 _I can't think about this now,_ she shook her head and resumed her walking, albeit with more caution.

Keith had been right about one thing, they had gone in here blind and she needed to take every precaution because...

Allura stopped abruptly as she heard a voice, a _female_ voice, coming from one of the abandoned living quarters.

"...here on the ship, did you know that?" A sharp laugh, like the sting of acid on metal, "do you really _think_ that they're here to rescue a traitor like you!"

The sound of flesh hitting flesh, a harsh grunt of a male voice and then silence.

Allura slid along the wall, trying to get closer without being detected. She knew the owner of that acid voice and there was a white noise in her mind because of it.

"Perhaps," the female voice continued in a soft, insidious whisper, "I should just kill you now. After all, who would even care if you died..."

Allura heard the distinctive sound of metal sliding on metal, the same sound a dagger made when being pulled from its sheath and decided she had had enough.

Allura swung into the room, the metal pipe in her hands like a staff and she brought it crashing down on the scarred, blue hand that held the dagger.

"So _Solturn,_ " Allura spit out the female drule's name as if it were the foulest of curses, "what pit did you crawl out of?"

Solturn, General of the Fourth Kingdom, hissed out a breath as she clutched her now bleeding hand.

"My my if it isn't the _pretty_ princess of Arus. Look here, Lotor, your _beloved_ ," she spat out the word, "has come to save you. You must feel so _honored._ "

Allura, who's sole focus had been on Soltorn, looked on with shock to see Lotor on his knee's before Soltorn. His clothing was nothing but rags hanging off of his body that bore a multitude of recent cuts, many of those still bleeding. His skin, the distinctive blue of his race, was mottled in places that could only be bruising.

She saw, with faint surprise, that one of his legs was encased by two pieces of wood held together by bands of dirty cloth.

 _He's hurt, badly._

It wasn't Sven, as she had thought when Soltorn had talked about a traitor.

It was Lotor.

Allura tightened her grip on the metal pole as Soltorn turned to face her, the flash of light from the metal patch over her scarred left eye distinctive.

"You've changed since last we saw each other," Allura noted, the smile on her face a satisfied one. "An improvement to your looks."

Soltorn's finger's immediately went to the eye patch. "You dare!" she hissed out, pulling another blade from her hip.

"This time I will strip that lily-white skin of yours to the bone and there will be _no one_ to stop me this time!"

Allura moved into her fighting stance, balancing the pole across her body. "I am _not_ that small girl anymore, butcher, to be left to your tender mercies."

Lotor looked between Allura and Soltorn and knew there was a hidden history between the two. But to his knowledge, Soltorn had never met Allura, let alone have this level of hatred for the Arusian female.

Soltorn saw his look and gave the drule prince a razor edged smile before turning back to Allura.

"Lotor," Soltorn began in a casual voice as she swiped the dagger's edge towards Allura's face, "seems confused as how we know each other, _princess._ Shall I tell him, or will you do the honors?"

"You talk too much, Soltorn." Her words were like shards of ice and she dodged the knife to her head and planted the butt of her staff directly into the other female's solar plexus.

Soltorn made a retching sound, but her space suit had absorbed most of the blow, otherwise Allura would have shattered a few of ribs in the process.

Lotor made the most of Soltorn's distraction and quickly rolled over, catching the fallen knife and made short work of freeing his hands from his bonds.

"Traitor!" hissed Soltorn as Allura moved between the two drule's, "even now you side with these human cattle! You are a disgrace to all the drule!"

"Enough Soltorn!" Allura held the metal pipe underneath her chin, forcing her head up, "tell me what you are doing on one of _my_ ships."

The female general gave her a nasty smile, full of poison. "Why to bring you a present of course. Not," she wheezed out a laugh, "that you will be alive long enough to see it."

She was on her feet in an instant, her hands grappling for the metal pipe. Allura held on with all of her strength. She knew if she let go and Soltorn got a hold of the weapon, it would be over. She might have some defensive skills, but Soltorn was a general of the drule empire.

"Allura down!"

 _Keith!_

Allura immediately let go of the staff and dropped to her knee's just as a burst of firepower shot above her head and directly into Soltorn.

The drule's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she toppled over like a fallen tree.

Allura stared at the fallen female, her eyes narrowed in wary suspicion. "Is she...dead?"

"No," replied Keith in a flat tone, "just stunned."

A clatter of metal and Allura turned to see his laser pistol fall to the floor. "It's drained. Just dead weight now."

Allura turned to Keith, wariness turning to joy, her anger from before a distant memory. "Why are you here? How did you know where to find me?"

"This ship is wired to blow," Keith told her, taking her by the hand, "we have to leave _now._ "

"But Sven!"

"He isn't here, Allura."

Keith and Allura turned to Lotor, who was still on his knee's. His broken leg would no longer support his weight. A grimace of pain on his elfin face, he kept his cat-yellow eyes upon Allura.

"How do you know this?" she demanded, letting go of Keith's hand to stand before Lotor.

"I was there, remember?" Lotor turned his head and spit out a mouthful of blood. "If Sven survived that explosion, he would have been blown halfway through the galaxy...perhaps he might have even landed on Pollux."

Allura shuttered, she knew very well Pollux was on the other side of the drule empire, light years from their current location.

"Why should we believe anything you have to say?"

Keith had come to Allura's side and Lotor gave a smile that held no joy. "I have no reason to lie to you, Commander Kogane. That is a human flaw."

A groan from the corner let Allura know Soltorn was about to waken. With a grim look on her face, Allura went to the fallen female and with precision, she struck the back of the drule's head with the butt of the metal pipe.

Soltorn fell back to the ground and this time she did not move.

Both males looked at Allura. Keith with a silent nod of his head and Lotor with a vicious smile on his. "Well done Allura."

"I don't want, or need, your praise Lotor."

"Enough, we need to leave before this ship blows." Once more Keith grabbed Allura's hand to drag her from the room.

She was still looking at Lotor, who looked back at her with equal stillness. "Will you leave me here to die?"

"We don't have time for your games, Lotor," Keith growled out, "you chose your fate."

"Even if it means not learning the fate of your fallen comrade or what the drule supremacy has in store for your precious Alliance?"

"It's a trap, we shouldn't believe anything he has to say," Keith warned Allura but she shook her head. "Trap or not, Lotor knows the Drule empire, having been born to it. He is also the son of King Zarkon and will have information that we will need, if we are truly ever to be free."

Allura came to rest on her knee's before Lotor, her eyes like living sapphires in her face. "This is the bargain. You tell us everything you know of the Supremacy and what they have in mind and we will take you with us. Or, you can stay here and die and we _will_ find Sven and expose the Drule Empire for the monster's they are without your help."

Lotor sighed...mentally. "Very well, I will help you but _only_ after we have left this accursed ship. I have no wish to die in this vacuum."

"Allura..."

She heard the warning and the censure in Keith's voice but she shook her head. "A bargain then. Can you walk?"

Lotor's lips pressed together and he gave a shake of his head. To have to reveal his...weakness, especially before Kogane, was an insult to his honor.

But he had no other choice.

"My leg is broken...as well as a few of my ribs."

Allura gave a nod of her head, as if she expected this. "This is may hurt, just a little."

Allura lifted her hands and Keith caught them, his breath catching as realized what she intended to do. "Allura you can't!"

"I have to." She looked up at Keith and once more her eyes began to glow with blue fire. "This would not have remained secret for too much longer."

She gently tugged her hands free and looked upon Lotor with her glowing eyes, her hands now glowing with that same incandescent light.

"I have to touch you...may I?"

Lotor gave a nod of his head, to entranced by what he saw to speak. For a moment Allura did not seem to be a mortal woman, but some ethereal goddess given human form.

He hands, wen they touched the ruins of his flesh, began to spread their light and Lotor felt as though his body were being bathed in warm, soothing waters.

He closed his eyes as the heat intensified and gritted his teeth in silent agony as the pain in his leg flared, his nerves screaming...and then suddenly, in the space of a heartbeat, the heat was gone and so too was the pain.

Lotor opened his eyes and took in a deep breath...and felt no constriction to his breathing.

"You healed me."

"Only the surface wounds and enough so you can stand. The rest of your body is still badly damaged and will take more time that what I have to give."

Lotor gave her a smile that made Keith want to knock him back unconsciousness and leave him to rot. "Then let us be on our way, my Queen."

Keith shot Lotor a look of disbelief. "She is _not_ your queen."

Lotor got to his feet and gingerly put his weight on his leg. It would hold, for now. But Allura had spoken truth, the bones and sinew were still mending.

"Your ignorance still astounds me, Kogane." Lotor replied as he motioned for them to leave the room. "I wasn't referring to Allura as a queen of the drule, though that offer still stands, but as Queen of Arus. She is no longer a mere 'princess' any more."

"Enough." Allura cut is she sensed that both males were riding their tempers. She knew that Lotor was deliberately trying to goad Keith, and his current mood, it might just work.

"We need to go, now. What of Soltorn?"

Lotor waved his hand. "Leave that piece of carrion. If we are not gone from this place soon, her people will come looking for her."

"As much as I hate to agree, Lotor is right. We _have_ to go."

Still Allura hesitated, not for Soltorn, the female drule had sealed her fate the moment she boarded the Arusian ship. But for the ship itself and everything it represented for her people.

It was Lotor, of all people, who managed to get her to leave.

"It is a ship, Allura, but one of many."

Allura turned to look at Lotor, astonishment in her eyes. She wondered if his words meant what she thought. "Then others...they're still out there?"

"Yes."

Just a single word, but it rekindled the hope within her heart that she might yet save her people, rebuild her world...

She nodded at the two men. "Let's go. There is nothing left for us here. Lotor, you're with me."

Keith glared, not at Lotor, but Allura.

Yet they were out of time, and with a silent snarl, Keith grabbed Lotor and hefted his weight onto his own. The drule was taller than Keith by a few inches, but it would do in a pinch.

"This is pathetic, being carried by a human."

"This 'human' can knock your ass unconscious and drag your sorry carcass out of here if you don't shut it now."

Lotor grunted as his healing ribs jarred painfully and choice the better part of valor and kept his silence.

There would be time enough, he thought, to show who was the better male.


	40. Chapter 40

**Author's Note:** Update! I know it's been **forever** since I updated! I am such a bad author to keep my reader's waiting! :( Seriously, I am really, really sorry that it took me this long! However, to make up for it, I have several chapter to publish for the long wait! I know it's a super long story and I hope it's not boring you! Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **REVIEWS! REVIEWS! REVIEWS! REVIEWS!**

Chapter 40

"I don't want the heavens or the shooting stars.

I don't want gemstones or gold.

I have those things already.

I want...a steady hand. A kind soul.

I want to fall asleep, and awake,

knowing my heart is safe.

I want to love, and to be loved."

Unknown

"Allura?"

The soon-to-be-queen of Arus turned at the sound of the familiar voice. "Come in Coran. I'm here."

Here being the observation deck on the newly restored Castle of Lions.

"I thought I would find you here."

"It's become my favorite spot. But I'm sure you didn't come all the way up here for me to tell you that. What is on your mind?"

"I've come to check on you." Coran gave her a slight smile, well aware that his day's of looking after the grief-stricken, headstrong princess were long gone. However some habits were too ingrained to break and he knew when the young woman, who he practically raised as a daughter, was troubled by these recent events.

Allura returned his smile with one of her own. It was a pathetic excuse for a smile but it was there. "Am I that transparent?"

Coran gave a soft chuckle and groaned, softly, as he settled his old bones into one of the chairs. "Only to one who has known you since you were a child. Tell me what is worrying you."

"Coran..." she began, sighed, and went to go and sit by the aged diplomat. "Did I do the right thing by bringing Lotor here to Arus? Have I made a devil's bargain and saved our people...or condemned them to death?"

Coran looked at the young woman who was soon be queen.

A young queen who had still much to learn about being a ruler, despite her maturity and hard earned wisdom.

"A devil's bargain you say? Perhaps. But if what Lotor told us is true, about Pollux and about the Supremacy, then I would say it was a bargain worth making...and keeping."

Though it did her good to hear that the decision she had made in that moment on the destroyed ship was heralded by a man she respected only second to her father, her heart still felt uneasy.

"You are not convinced."

Again she gave him a wan smile. "I am...uncertain. Can Lotor truly be trusted? Or is this just another of his grand schemes, controlled by Zarkon, to make us only _think_ we now have the upper hand?"

Coran leveled her with a stare and decided now was a good time to stop beating around the bush and settle the matter once and for all.

"You would know for certain if you used your power."

Allura's reaction was instant and volatile. She was up out of her seat a look of utter distaste on her elfin features. "And be like Merla? Creeping around in the mind's of men just get what I want? Is that how you see me and my _gifts_?"

She had confided in Coran shortly after they had returned from that disastrous mission that had nearly ended all of their lives about her newly awakened powers and about her ability to be able to communicate with Voltron.

It had come to no surprise to the aged military commander, for he was well aware that Voltron had been constructed with a mix of sorcery as well as science and Allura was a direct descendant of Altarus, the man who had made Voltron live.

"No, not like Merla." Coran replied with a calm mien despite the rage in Allura's voice. "She knows only how to grasp at power, secrets and lies is what the drule are born into. It is, by their very nature, the tenants on which their empire has thrived on."

"And what of me? To ask me to invade Lotor's mind..."

"Do you intend to control him? Exploit him for personal gain?"

Allura shook her head most vehemently at each of Coran's suggestions. "Absurd! I would never do anything like that. It is...wrong."

Coran stood up, albeit slowly, and moved to her side. He did not touch but simply looked into her eyes, so much like her mother's, and quirked his eyebrow at her.

"Then you have your answer."

Allura sighed but even she had to admit she felt a bit better. But now, if only...

As if sensing the change in her thoughts Coran gave a mild cough to catch her attention. She was much surprised to see the telltale signs of embarrassment on his weathered features.

"Coran? Is there something else you wanted to discuss with me?"

"Ah, yes. But...perhaps I am not the right person for this task. Perhaps you should speak to...Commander Kogane."

Allura flushed scarlet but refused to drop her gaze. "Why would you mention K...the commander?"

This time Coran did sigh and wished that he was not the one to breech this particular subject. However, as he was her oldest and closest adviser, it was left to him. "I may be old Allura but my faculties are still in working order. I am well aware of the recent...tension between the two of you."

"Coran, I don't see where..."

But he held up his hand. "Let me speak and then you may have your say."

Allura sighed, but held her peace and waited for whatever it is that Coran needed to say.

Coran gave a slight nod of approval when she did as he asked. "I, and at least Commander Kogane, are aware of your newly awakened powers. Because of this you may now take your rightful place as Queen of Arus...with one exception."

Allura could have groaned, she knew _exactly_ where this conversation was headed. _It is a stupid and outdated law,_ but she held her tongue. After all, she had given her consent to let Coran speak and then she would have her say in the matter.

"As you are aware, Arus has always been a dual monarchy. No ruler may take the throne of Arus unless he or she is either betrothed or married. You are neither Allura."

"Yes I know but..."

Coran merely looked at her and feeling liked the chastise child, Allura stopped her flow of words.

"Which is why you need to speak to Keith, and soon."

Allura felt the blush creep up her face. But she managed to maintain at least a facade of dignity.

 _This must be as embarrassing for him as it is for me._ " How long have you been...aware of my feelings for him?"

Coran leveled her with a dubious smile. "Allura, I have known since the day he arrived."

Allura gaped at him, she couldn't help it. She had only recently realized that the strange attraction she had felt for Keith had actually blossomed into love.

"But...but that's impossible! I've only just..."

Allura fumed, silently, when Coran began to chuckle softly.

"Forgive my impudence, Allura. There are many area's in which you excel, but in the matter's of the heart, you still have much to learn."

"I still don't see how you knew all this time..." _Damn if I don't sound like the petulant child._

"Allura," all mirth was gone from Coran and he was once again her most trusted adviser, "I have watched you since birth, I know your mannerism and your temperament. You behave as you always have...except around Kogane. From the day you met him, you trusted him beyond reason and doubt."

Coran gave her a smile that seemed to be filled with both joy and sadness. "It was the same between your mother and father."

Allura could only stare at Coran. He rarely spoke of her parents, especially before the war, but now she was learning something entirely new.

"My mother and father...how?"

"What do you remember of your mother, Allura?"

"Only bits and pieces. I remember that mother had been a diplomat, that is how she met father."

"Correct. Your mother was originally from Pollux and it wasn't until Zarkon opened up the borders between the drule and the rest of the galaxy, that she was free to travel between worlds. I was there when your mother arrived on Arus. Your father, ever a gracious man, had been greeting each of his guest as was his normal manner. But when your mother stepped through our gates..." Coran stopped speaking, his eyes far away.

Allura held her breath, for she had never learned the details of her parent's courtship, only that it was a swift one.

"And?" Allura demanded, unable to take his silence.

Coran blinked, as though forgetting that she was even there in the room, "Ah...yes, as I was saying, when your mother arrived...well, I knew from the moment your father looked at her, that he had found his queen. You might not have been aware but Alfor hadn't been crowned king at that time. He was still the crown prince, having refused marriage offers for several years. I quite despaired that he would ever marry and assume the throne but within the three months of your mother's intended stay, he had already fallen in love with the Lady of Pollux and had proposed marriage to her."

Once more Coran leveled the golden-haired woman a stern look. "So, despite my years, I do have the experience to recognize when a member of the royal family falls in love."

"I...I see. But Coran...this is different."

"I am well aware of this. Which is why you and Kogane need to speak of the matter's between the two of you. Allura, I wish nothing more than your happiness, you are deserving of it. But the people also need the stability of a ruling body. If you are unwilling to take Keith, if not as husband, than at least as ruling Consort, then you must speak to him about it."

"But..."

" _Also,"_ he continued cutting her off, "you must accept the possibility that Kogane will not wish to rule."

"Coran! Are you saying that Keith isn't fit to rule Arus because I..."

Once more Coran cut off her words with a single look. "I did not say that, Allura. In fact, I have come to greatly admire that young man. He has a good head on his shoulders, and the fact that he is older than you, is a benefit. Having an older consort at your side will give greater weight to your leadership. However you must remember that Keith was not born to royality, he is, in fact, a soldier at heart."

Allura sighed, "Yes, I know."

There was a wealth of meaning behind those small words, and more than a touch of sorrow.

"It would seem that I have overstepped my bounds. You have already been thinking about this, haven't you?"

Allura gave him a miserable look. "How could I not? Coran you are right...I do love Keith. He is...everything to me..."

"But?" Coran asked gently.

"But...there are things in Keith's life that...I don't think he will agree..."

Allura couldn't tell Coran about Keith's dead fiancee, that was far too personal and Keith had confided in her about how much pain it had caused him, knowing that she would take that knowledge to her death.

Such scars, she knew, might not ever heal.

"I see, well then you have but two options."

"Such as?"

"One, speak to Keith. You only have suspicions on what he will say, not actual fact. Just be prepared that the answer you seek...might not be the one you want to hear."

 _That is what I am afraid of. He...he hasn't even told me he loves me yet._

"Two?" she asked, not daring to voice her fears out loud.

"This is the harder of the two choices...you walk away. Now. Make a clean break...and find a man who will stand by your side, helping you to rebuild and defend Arus. If what Lotor has told us to be truth, then war is coming. Not just for us, but for the entire Alliance."

Allura's eyes widened at his words. _He knows I love Keith...yet he just told me to walk away from him and find someone else as if...as if I were just swapping out ballgowns!_

"I...I can't do that..."

"Does he love you Allura? I know that he cares for you, deeply. But caring for someone, and loving them enough to stay in a world that is not their own, that is another matter entirely."

 _I know that!_

She longed to shout the words at her adviser, but she wasn't a child anymore to be given into childish tantrums.

Coran sighed, sensing he had pushed Allura to her limit regarding the dark-eyed Voltron commander, rose to his feet.

"I will take my leave now but promise me that you will speak to Kogane regarding Lotor...and what we just discussed."

"I...promise."

The words were said with reluctance, but Coran knew that once Allura gave her promise, she would keep them.

With a slight bow, his body no longer allowed him complete freedom of movement, he left a heart-heavy Allura with much to think about and little time to decide her fate.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

" A serious girl, when

she finds someone who

calms her spirit and

quiets her busy

thoughts, will love you

so fiercely, it will defy

ever her own logic and

reasoning."

Unknown

"Man that was on rough ride."

"You said it Lance, I think my ears are still ringing from that blast."

Lance laughed at Pidge's disgruntled quip, but he knew that they were lucky be alive. _A few more seconds and we would all have been space dust._

"How goes the maintenance check up on the 'Cats?"

Lance was in the holding bay for the Lions with Pidge and Hunk. After their last mission, considering how much they had put Voltron through, the two engineer's were doing a through check of their systems.

Lance, who had been unable to find Allura and kept getting deterred by Coran on her whereabouts, was now hanging out with the two men.

"Considering everything we put them through, oddly they're in good shape."

That was Hunk, who busy fixing some kind of paneling that Lance had no idea what it was for and really didn't care.

 _As long as I can fly my baby, then I don't care how she works. Just as long as she keeps on working._

"Although..." Pidge murmured, looking at his scanner, "I've been getting odd fluctuating readings since that battle with the drule and...you know, Sven."

Lance saw Hunk tense and even he felt his body stiffen at their missing comrade's name. _Yeah Sven in a grade A traitor and I want to kick his ass from here back to the moon, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried about the bastard._

Looking at the tense faces of Pidge and Hunk, he figured they shared his sentiments.

"Yeah, that was one hell of a dog fight. Speaking of dogs, anyone get why princess brought that piece of drule scum to Arus? I mean the people are seriously freaked about having him here."

Pidge looked worried but then shrugged his small shoulders. "No idea, but if Allura brought him with us then she had to have her reasons. Keith didn't object either."

 _Yeah well, our illustrious commander has reasons to stay on her good-side doesn't he?_

Lance gave a grimace of a smile, even he couldn't miss the fact that his thoughts sounded bitter to his own ears.

He knew Keith cared about Allura, but he also saw the pain on Allura's whenever she looked at Keith and knew that whatever was going on between them, it was breaking her heart.

 _He needs to do something about this or let he go so someone else can step up and take care of her._

Lance sighed and wonder if he really was fooling himself about Allura. He knew she liked him, hell he was a charming kind of guy, but she didn't look at him the way he wanted her to.

Like the way she looked at Keith, as if he were her entire world.

 _Damn it. Maybe I should just give up...Naw, until I get concrete proof that she and our stick-in-the-mud leader are actually 'together' I'm still going to chase her._

It wasn't like him to back down from a challenge and Allura was turning out to be a challenge of a lifetime.

How the hell could he back down now?

 _Speaking of angelic beauties,_ the object of his unrequited affections had just walked into the hanger.

"Hey there princess, did you come looking for something...or someone?" Lance waggled his eyebrows at her and he was relieved when she let out a reluctant giggle.

 _Well at least I can still make her laugh, girls like that in a guy. Not just the brooding-silent types._

"Actually Lance, I did."

"Whoa...really!" He put a hand to his heart, "Princess I didn't know you cared so much!"

He was half-joking, yet there was that tinge of truth in his eyes that made Allura shift, oh-so-slightly, away from him.

"Lance, you know I care for you. All of you, you are my most precious family."

 _Damn, I think I just got friend-zoned. This close from 'obnoxious but likable brother' title._

"So, Allura, what are you doing in the hanger?"

This was Hunk, who shot Lance a hard look that told him in no uncertain terms to knock of the lame cracks, and turned his attention back to the woman.

"The same as you, I've come to check on the Lions. We put them through quite a bit and I want to make sure that he's okay."

Hunk gave her a perplexed look. " 'He', Allura?"

Allura flushed scarlet, "Voltron, of course."

"Yes, but it's only the Lions in their separate parts. They are not 'Voltron'."

"They are in pieces, yes," she murmured quietly as she stepped up to Blue Lion, placing her hand on his head that was bent downward, "but they are still part of the whole. Always linked to each other."

Closing her eyes she once more made the effort to 'feel' for the spirit of Voltron. That voice which had spoken to her, weeks ago, in the quiet reaches of space.

A flickering 'light', like the soft brush of a feather against her mind, was the answer for her effort.

"Whoa! Those reading I was telling you about, they just fluctuated again! Man I wish I knew what was causing these irregularities."

Allura stepped back from Blue Lion with a look of guilt on her face. She had yet to tell the rest of the team about the reality of Voltron.

It was yet another thing she had to discuss with Keith.

Which brought her back to her original reason for coming to the pit.

"Allura, you ok?"

She smiled at Pidge, who had come to take reading's on Blue Lion. "I'm fine. Actually the other reason I'm here is because I was looking for Keith, but I can't seem to find him. Have any of you seen him lately?"

"Well...I remember seeing him earlier this morning, right Hunk? We were just starting diagnostics when Keith was saddling up one of the turrvak's and saying something about doing a sweep of the area."

"Yeah, I think he took one of the comns as well. You might want to try him on that."

Allura shot Hunk and Pidge a grateful look. "Thanks, I will...although," she frowned at this, "I thought our long-range sensors were finally up and running. Why would Keith need to go out and sweep the area?"

"Oh you know Keith, unless he does it himself, he can't believe that it's being done right."

This was from Lance and Allura shot him a startled look. "That isn't true and you know it."

 _Jeez I'm really losing my touch today. Haven't seen her frown this much since I first arrived here._

"Joking, joking." He held up his hands in surrender, "But you know Keith. Not one to sit still when he thinks there is work to be done. Probably just needed some air. Not much of a downtime kinda guy come to think about it."

Allura's startled look transformed into one of absent thoughtfulness, "Yes...that does sound more like Keith...I just wish he had thought to mention he was leaving."

 _She is so beautiful,_ Lance thought with a silent sigh, wishing he could reach out and stroke her hair. But even he knew that was taking things too far. Allura, much like Keith, took on the offensive when her space was invaded.

"I'll try and track him down. Thanks for the advice and let me know if anything strange comes up with the inspections."

"Will do Allura. Come on Pidge, these Lions are not going to diagnose themselves."

"Sure, Hunk...just a minute. Hey Allura, can I ask you something?"

Allura turned back around, barely taken a half-step when Pidge stopped her with his question. "Sure Pidge, you know you can ask me anything."

 _Wait...I think we've had this conversation before,_ Allura nearly shook her head in exasperated amusement with Pidge. _Is this what is like to have younger siblings?_

"So...the guys and I were wondering...why is Lotor here on Arus? Shouldn't we have, you know, dropped him to Galaxy Garrison or something and let them deal with him? I mean, he is a war criminal, isn't he?"

 _Of all the questions he could have asked...of course the team would be discussing why Lotor was suddenly brought to Arus..._

"You're right Pidge and yes, had Lotor been any other war criminal, we would have let Galaxy Garrison handle him. However, he is the only son of Zarkon and therefore has a great deal of information that we need."

"Yeah that whole 'hidden war' conspiracy bullshit he was spouting earlier."

Allura stopped cold, it was though Lance's words had thrown ice into her veins. She turned on him her eyes a glorious blaze of blue fire.

"You forget, Captain McClain, that is _exactly_ what happened thirteen years ago to my world. What we thought was a gesture of peace from the Drule Supremacy was, in fact, an elaborate act intent on destroying my world along with thirty-four others."

Lance took an immediate step back away from Allura, swallowing hard. He had never seen her like this... _those eyes...since when did human eyes glow..._

Lance stopped short, realizing what he had just thought. For all that Allura looked human, acted human, the fact was that she wasn't from Earth.

"I cannot, _will not,_ ignore the possibility that what Lotor revealed is true. If war is coming to Arus, to the entire Alliance, then we will _not_ be taken unawares. Now if you will excuse me I have work to do."

Allura did not wait for his response, her anger was a sharp blade inside of her soul, she simply turned on heel of her boot and left the pit without another word.

"Damn," Lance whispered, even as Hunk and Pidge just stared after Allura, "I seriously screwed up this time."

Allura took in a deep breath the calm the flames of her anger. _He didn't mean it,_ she told herself as her fingernails dug crescent moons into her palm, _he hasn't been on Arus long enough to understand just what the Drule did to us. To me. To him the past is just that, the past._

She didn't hate Lance and for the most part she rather enjoyed his cockiness. It reminded her that not everything about life had to be a battle.

"But there is a time and place for such bravado and he took that last quip too far."

Allura bit her lip, remembering the shocked look in his eyes when she had spoken to him so coolly. He had even taken a step away from her... _as though I had somehow frightened him. Keith would not have stepped back, he would not have been afraid of my anger._

That unexpected thought caused a fierce ache in heart. She wanted, at that moment, to be with him. To be held by him, that silent strength of his more calming than any false flattery could ever do.

 _Keith where_ are _you? Don't you know that I need you here by my side?_


	42. Chapter 42

**Author's note:** As promised, several chapters at once and this one is a really long one, so thanks for reading! More to come, I swear!

 **Disclaimer:** Yeah, you know it. No own, yada yada, just play.

 **Reviews! Reviews! Reviews! Reviews!** Yes, I really, **REALLY** want to know what you think.

Chapter 42

"If you are to love,

love like the moon loves.

It doesn't steal the night,

it only unveils the

beauty of the darkness."

Isra Al-Thibeh

Keith rode back into castle Arus with his mind calmer and at least a fraction of his emotions in check. He knew he would only be fooling himself to think that, after everything that had happened, he could go back to encasing them in black ice.

 _Just one look into those blue flames and she'll have melt it all away,_ Keith shook his head at the thought. Even during his ride his thoughts were consumed by her. She was in his every waking thought. When he closed his eyes all he saw was endless blue eyes, like drowning in a ocean, and hair made of liquid sunshine.

He had well and truly fallen this time.

Keith, instead of giving into the temptation of finding Allura and stealing her away for a few hours, gritted his teeth and told himself to do his duty.

He went to go find the rest of the team, who at present, were suppose to be working on the Lions. Much to his surprise and relief they were exactly where they were suppose to be.

Including Lance.

 _Who looks like he just ran over someone's pet dog._ He had never seen Lance look that miserable in the entire time he had known him. Even when they had come within a hair's breath of dying on the abandoned Arusian ship, he still hadn't looked like that.

 _Something happened while I was gone. Hope to hell it isn't more trouble on the way._ They had already survived enough close scrapes that Keith was pretty certain all of them, combined, had used up every last bit of luck for the next millennium.

"Keith! You're back! How was the sweep?"

Keith narrowed his eyes at Pidge's over enthusiastic greeting. Normally the boy, _teenager Kogane,_ was so engrossed in his electronics that he barely registered when others were present.

"Normal, quiet." He folded his arms and looked at the three men, who had gathered around Red Lion. "Alright, spill. What happened?"

It was Pidge who answered, surprise written all over his gamin features. "Wait...you mean Allura didn't call for you?"

Keith frowned at that, _this can't be good if they think Allura was calling for me,_ "No my comm was silent all morning. Why would she need to call me back to the castle?"

Pidge and Lance exchanged what could only be described as guilty looks while Hunk merely sighed in resignation. "She was out here looking for you. Told her you were doing a sweep."

Keith didn't speak, merely folded his arms over his chest and waited. He was a very patient person and could hold out until the moon came out for an answer.

"Damn I hate when you look like that," Lance groaned but he quickly got to his feet. "Look, I'll level with you, I messed up. Bad."

"What did you do Lance?" _How much trouble could you have caused in a single morning? We've only just gotten back._

"I said something that pissed off Allura. Like not your normal pissed off...but...shit, how do I explain?"

"It was weird she got all quiet," Pidge explained trying to help Lance out, "and when she spoke...her voice, it was like ice. There was a strange resonance..and her eyes, Keith they _glowed."_

Keith's eyes widened just a fraction when he heard about her glowing eyes. He had seen that as well in her, but only once and he remembered that she told him that it happened when she was in communication with Voltron.

 _A merging of minds, that's how she described it. But Voltron isn't together so how..._ Keith looked around and the answer came to him. All the Lions were present and just because they were apart, didn't mean they were _apart._

 _Even separated, she can still tap into the spirit of Voltron._ It still shook the hell out of him that the robot that they had been piloting all these months was somehow...alive.

"What, exactly, did you say to her Lance?"

His voice was soft, no hint of emotion. He kept himself in check, and with good reason. If Voltron was reaching a point where he...it...was able to sense Allura's emotional distress, then that was something that was going to have be resolved and soon.

Lance scrubbed the back of his neck and once more had that look that he had killed someone's favorite pet.

"We were discussing what Lotor was doing here on Arus and not in some cell from Garrison and she said...well, she gave us her reason and I...popped off."

"What. Did. You. Say."

Lance swallowed hard and wondered if he was about to get sent back to Earth, or worse, dropped from the team altogether. "She told us what Lotor said about a war coming to Arus and to the Alliance. I called it a bullshit conspiracy theory. Keith...man, I wasn't thinking..."

"No, clearly you weren't thinking at all." _To say that to Allura after what happened to her home and her parents thirteen years ago._

It was no longer a surprise why Lance looked the way he did.

Keith turned from the distraught male back to Pidge. "Did Allura do anything before you guys began asking questions."

"No, not really...she was just asking how the diagnostics were going..."

"Wait," Hunk cut in, a thoughtful look on his face, "she was standing close to Blue Lion. She was murmuring something about the Lions being separate, yet part of the whole. After that she closed her eyes and leaned up against Blue. I thought she was still tired and taking a quick rest."

"Oh yeah," Pidge chimed in, "just after that my reading went all crazy! Weirdest thing I've seen yet...well except for, you know, her eyes glowing like that."

Keith had a damn good idea what was causing those irregularities. _Looks like Voltron hasn't quite gone back into his deep sleep just yet._

He was awake enough to reach out to Allura and to feel her distress at Lance's thoughtless words.

"Keith, you know I would never hurt Allura on purpose."

The dark-eyed male sighed and unfolded his arms. He lain one hand on Lance's shoulder, startling the cocky young pilot. "I know that and I'm sure Allura does too. However your words brought up painful memories for her. For now, keep working on the Lion's. I'll go and talk to Allura. You said she was looking for me right?"

Lance nodded his head and stepped back. "Yeah, she was. She also said something about...work. No clue what she meant."

 _I think I do and if I'm right, I'm not going to like where I find her._

"Princess is there something I can do for you?"

Allura did not have the energy to put on a false smile but she made sure that all traces of her anger had been wiped from her face.

The man who had called out to her was one of the guards posted at Lotor's 'cell'. He was, in fact, in the Castle of Lions. The 'cell' which was nothing more than a converted guest room, had but a single bed and chair with a small alcove for a basic bathroom. What made the room unique was that the room had no door.

Somehow, and Allura was still getting the details on this, Coran had managed to set up a force field that allowed for bio-metric readings. The shortened version was that no one could enter, or leave, unless their unique DNA had been imprinted into the computer for verification.

The only people, as of this moment, who could enter the field was Allura herself and Keith. Lotor, she had been told, had already tried the field and gotten a nasty surprise for his effort.

"Good morning Ristol, I wish to speak to...our prisoner."

"Of course Princess...but I wasn't told by either Commander Kogane or Coran that you would be down today."

 _That is because I didn't tell anyone._

Allura leveled the guard with what Keith, had he seen it, would have called her 'princess mask'. It was the face she used when exerting her authority.

"Ristol, although I appreciate your concern, I do not need either one's permission to move about my own home."

"Right," the young guard snapped her a sharp salute, "forgive my questions."

"You're forgiven, now please leave us." She held up a hand before the guard could voice a protest, "You may monitor us from the communications desk. I am correct in thinking that our surveillance is up and running and we have eyes on the cell at all times?"

"Yes Princess." it was obvious that the guard was reluctant to leave her alone with the drule prince. That was because she had only ever come down with Keith or Coran, at their insistence.

"It's all right Ristol, should Commander Kogane learn of this, I will take responsibility. Now do as I ask."

Once more he gave her a crisp bow and with a look of disapproval on his face, he left to where another guard watched Lotor on the monitoring system.

Allura came to stand in front of the cell. Lotor, who had overheard the entire exchange, merely gave her a bored look from where he lay on his bed.

"Not with your bodyguard today Allura? This is a pleasant change thought I am rather surprised that Commander Kogane would let you out of his sight."

The sneer in his voice was unmistakable but Allura chose to ignore it. She was not here to trade insults with the drule royal.

"That is my business and of no concern to you. We need to talk."

"So talk, it is not as though I can go anywhere or do anything else."

"I need to ask you some more questions."

Silence.

Allura frowned when Lotor didn't answer her. "Lotor, did you hear me?"

"Of course, I am injured, not deaf. However, I refuse to speak to you...unless you come in here. I am not an animal on display Allura."

The censure in his voice made her temper bristle and she knew he was playing mind games with her.

 _But I don't have time for this. I don't know when Keith will be back from his sweep or how long Coran is going to be in contact with Hawkins._

She had no choice but to enter the holding cell.

"Fine."

Allura stepped through the invisible shield and felt nothing more than a pleasant hum of power as it passed over her body and within seconds she was in the sparse room.

"Better. It appears you were quite serious about wanting to talk to me." He sat up and gave her a dangerous smile. "I am flattered."

"Don't be. You and I both know the only reason you are here, and not locked away in a Garrison prison base, is because you have information that I need."

"Correct, but haven't we discussed this already?"

"Yes," she frowned at him as she took the chair opposite of his bed. There was little room to maneuver and it was either the chair...or the bed. Allura would have sat on the chair, even if it had been on fire, rather than the bed. "But we both know that the information you gave us what just enough to sharpen our interests and not the whole of it."

Lotor quirked a silver eyebrow at her, his elfin features a strong contrast to her own delicate ones. Since arriving on Arus, she had made sure that he was given medical care and clean clothes. The food, while simple, was ample and without strings.

 _"Your people may be cruel, inhuman monsters but that doesn't mean we have to be the same."_

 _"Your compassion is commendable but it is weakness. A flaw of humanity."_

 _"Then it is a flaw I am willing to live with."_

It was the one time, the only time, that she and Lotor had had a conversation between the two of them since arriving on Arus.

"You are learning I see. Yes, what I told you is the truth, but only part of it."

 _I knew it, more mind games._

"So what is the rest?"

Lotor frowned at her, as though her words had disappointed him. "Allura, royalty you may be, but you have yet learned the art of 'negotiation'."

Allura gave him a cold look. "Since when did the drule know anything about 'negotiations'? You take what you want regardless on whether or not it is yours to take."

"Survival of the fittest Allura."

 _I really wish he would stop using my name so freely._

However in the scheme of things, it was irrelevant. She knew he used her name, in such an intimate tone, to bait her.

Or throw her off her mindset. Either way it was a drule trick to distract the unwary opponent.

Lotor sighed and with a slight wince, swung his feet off the bed so that he now faced her.

Allura tensed, but she did not move. Although she knew he had healed a great deal of his injuries since coming to Arus, he was still not threat to her.

 _Now, when he is completely healed, that might be another story. But for now I am confident that I can handle him._

"Not calling for your guard? Tell me, Allura, have you lost your fear of me?"

"I never feared you to begin with Lotor," at his narrowed eyes, she gave him a tight, razor thin, smile before the ice coated her eyes once more. "Let's stop this dance of words. You obviously want something from me or you would not have mentioned negotiations. What do you want?"

"I should think that would be obvious."

The low purr in his voice, velvet-coated pain in each nuance, caused Allura to straighten up as though someone had shoved a steel rod down her back.

"No."

Her answer was instantaneous and pure steel.

"No? Already you answer when I have not even told you what it is I want."

"I know what you _want_ and I am telling you, no. You cannot have me."

When he remained silent, those glimmering cat-yellow eyes looking at her with such disconcerting intensity, Allura decided she had had enough.

She shot to her feet and with a glare on her face. "I don't have time for your games Lotor. When you want a real conversation, you have but to alert the guard."

She turned and had just barely stepped up the shield, when his next words, so quietly spoken, stopped her in her tracks.

"You have not taken up your crown, Allura. Without the title of 'Queen' to give weight to your rule, you will be hard pressed to convince your alliance that the war I speak of is coming."

Allura turned slowly, wariness vibrating from every cell in her body.

"How do you know I am not yet queen?"

Lotor threaded his fingers together and rested his chin on them. He no longer looked at her the way a male looked at female he wanted to bed, instead he looked at her the way one monarch looks at another.

"Arus royalty can only take their place as ruler when they wed, or at least, betrothed. You are neither."

"I-.."

Lotor narrowed his eyes at her, "Do not try to attempt to lie to me Allura. Had the only daughter of King Alfor found a worthy male, it would have been announced already."

"Where are you going with the Lotor?"

She was having trouble following his train of thought in the matter.

"You need a king by your side Allura, if you would lead your people. You also do not wish for another war. I can see it in your eyes, in every word you speak."

Lotor lifted his head and offered her his hand. "Take my hand, ally our two kingdoms and you will have accomplished both objectives. A king at your side...and the answer to subverting this war to come."


	43. Chapter 43

**Author's Note:** It's update time! Yes, yes I know...long time no see. Sorry about the massive delay's in the updates but hopefully this will more than make up for it! Again sorry and thank you to all my avid readers for sticking with me! Again all grammatical errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews! Reviews!**

Chapter 43

"She wore her hopes

like a crown,

an outspoken soliloquy

of dreams."

-Ariana

Allura stared at his hand as though it were a snake about to bite her, such was her horror at his proposal.

 _Never!_

The words were on her lips, begging to be screamed in outright denial at the utter ridiculousness of his request.

 _Married to a drule and him at that, does he truly take me to be that dimwitted as to hand over my kingdom and my people just for the asking?_

However she did not scream the word. Instead that cold, logical part of her brain that allowed her see a situation beyond an emotional response, made her pause.

 _He has information I need. If I outright reject him, I have lost my bargaining chip. So, let us see how badly he desires this 'alliance of marriage'._

Allura tilted her head, a frown marring her elfin features.

"You speak in riddles Lotor and as I told you I have no time for your games."

The dismissive nature of her words had the drule prince returning her frown. "It is you who are speaking in riddles now, Allura. My proposal of marriage is a legitimate one."

Allura allowed a derisive smile to come to lips. "The son of Zarkon, proposing an alliance of marriage to the woman who now rules the planet he tried wiping out of existence? Even if I were...inclined, to take your words seriously, your father would have me executed the moment the ink was dry on the marriage contract."

Lotor waved a hand at her words as though they were inconsequential. "My father is old and has fallen out of favor with the Drule Supremacy. His recent actions against your planet have been met with...less than enthusiastic greetings from the remaining rulers."

Allura felt the lift of her eyebrows in surprise at his candid words.

 _If Lotor is to be believed, then there is dissension among the nine rulers of the Drule Supremacy._

Allura forced a shrug to her shoulders. "What of it? So a few of the kings and queens of the Supremacy have your father out of favor. Speaking plainly your father is not one to bow his head so meekly because he has made a few enemies."

Lotor eyed her, weighing his options, and sighed.

 _I am damned either way. My father will have me executed as a drule traitor for my involvement with Merla but if I take Allura as my bride,I will have to bring her to Bhorn's attention regardless._

"It should matter a great deal as one of those 'kings' you speak of is Bhorn, ruler of the First Kingdom and leader of the Drule Council."

Allura could not stop her eyes from widening at this new bit of information. _Bhorn, a figure so cloaked in secrets that even Garrison cannot prove if he even existed in the first place and now I have Lotor confirming that not only does he still rule the First Kingdom, but in essential, the entire Council._

"Bhorn?" Allura made the name a question, wondering how long she could draw this conversation out, "I've heard of that name, but only as a drule myth."

Lotor gave her a small laugh, but there was no mirth behind the sound. "He is no myth Allura. I have met him on several occasions."

 _From your tone, I doubt you enjoyed that experience much. But to bring him up...what is your game?_

Again she gave an elegant shrug of her shoulders, "So he is indeed alive and not some made up fiction to scare little drule children when they misbehave? Why speak to me of him?"

"Because, should you accept my generous offer of marriage, you will meet him."

Allura's blood ran cold and she could not help but take a step back at his proclamation. Lotor lifted a single, white eyebrow at her reaction.

"An alliance with me will allow you not only peace with the Ninth Kingdom, but the rest of the Supremacy, once of course, Bhorn acknowledges our marriage as legitimate."

 _Ah, so that is the piece I am missing. For all his bold talk he is uncertain that Bhorn will truly accept me as a drule bride. If he does not, not only does Lotor lose face and possibly his life, but my life and the lives of my people are forfeit as well._

"You make an...interesting argument, I will give you that." She made her word reluctant as if she was actually thinking about taking his proposal seriously.

"Let me think upon your words."

When he did not demand an answer right away, she lifted her brows in surprise. "You're not pressing me for answer right away?"

"No I am not. Take the time you need, Allura." Her dubious nature must have been clear on her face because his dark laughter soon filled the small space. "I am obviously not going anywhere soon and even if you answered me now, I would know it to be a lie. You are many things Allura, but stupid is not one of them. Think about my offer, you know where to find me when you decide."

Allura knew a dismissal when she heard one. _This conversation is over, I won't be getting more information no matter what I ask. I also have a strong suspicion that if I don't give him the answer he wants to hear then I can forget about getting any more information on Bhorn and the Council._

"Very well, I shall."

Allura turned and pressed her hand to the invisible field, passing though it seamlessly once again.

She moved with an even stride, despite her mind screaming at her to run from Lotor and those eyes that were no doubt watching her every move.

But she didn't, she would not let him see how much he had shaken her. Allura made it to the command room where, unsurprisingly, she found Keith waiting for her.

"Ristol you may return to your post."

"Princess, Commander."

He snapped a salute to both his monarch and commanding officer before exiting the small room.

"How long have you been here?" _How much did you hear of that conversation?_

"Long enough."

Allura sighed, for that gave her no answer and yet more than she wanted to know.

"I will never marry Lotor."

"I know."

Allura looked at him sharply and he gave her a slight smile that seemed rather forced.

"You seem to forget that on Earth I was a Marine. I know a battle tactic when I see one. You wanted information from him and agreeing to listen to his talk of marriage was the easiest way to get what you needed."

Allura let out a silent breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding until that moment. Seeing him there, she had expected a fight out of him but his calm logic put an end to that thought.

"Yes, that's exactly what I was doing. Keith...we need to talk."

The Voltron Commander gave her a long, searching look before giving a sharp nod of his head.

"Yes, it's time."


	44. Chapter 44

**Author's Note:** Second update! Yeah I know pretty quick update. What can I say, it's either feast or famine with me. As always, all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Yeah you know the drill by now...Reviews!**

Chapter 44

"She wasn't born herself

she found herself

over a long

and treacherous road

and the more treacherous

the road became

the more of

herself

she found."

Atticus

"Allura where are we?"

He had decided it was time for them to talk and Allura agreed but she had taken him out of the main castle and through a path that he had never seen, not in all of his sweeps. This part of the castle was built not with the newly enforced steel but the remnants of the old, weathered stone that had been part of the original Castle of Lions.

"When I was a child my father had this garden built so that my mother would have a place to call her own, a place where she could go to find herself or simply slip away from the chaos that being royal can bring."

The garden, which Allura knew had been destroyed with the rest of the castle, had been lovingly restored over the past several months.

The grounds they now walked upon was a rich carpet of green with a riot of flowers that were now just starting to bloom. The creeping vines with their pale lavender and peach star shaped flowers grew on the walls like a cascading waterfall. There were no flowering tree's, for those had burned down but she knew that in a few year's time, sapling would once again begin to grow and this secret place would once more be a sanctuary for the weary soul.

"I once snuck out here to see where my mother would disappear to without my father or me around. I realized, even as young as I was, that this place was special."

Allura walked over to where a small pond had been resurrected, the underground waters rerouted so that fresh water now filled the shallow basin.

Water flowers waved lazily in the soft breeze, their colors of burning orange and golden yellow, made it seem as though a sunset had appeared on the water.

She knelt down and touched one of the petals that was closer to the rim. Being here, seeing her mother's garden restored, had brought a deep joy to her heart.

Allura looked up at Keith, who wore a bemused look and she could not help but smile. "I brought you here because I made Coran promise me that we will not be disturbed for anything less than a full assault from the Drule Empire."

She lifted a hand up to him. "Will you not come sit with me?"

Taking her hand, Keith allowed himself to be pulled down by her side, their fingers entwined.

Allura sighed softly and laid her head against his shoulder. _Too long,_ she thought as a peaceful silence fell over them, _since I have had more than a few seconds to spend anytime with him._

She found, now that she had him to herself, that she was reluctant to speak of the matters that lay between.

A shift of movement and then a soft weight on her head and Allura realized that Keith has shifted so that he could lay his head on top of hers, her body nestled into his lean frame.

Allura closed her eyes and willed time to stop, to capture this perfect moment.

 _So,_ she thought, _this is what happiness feels like again._ No arguments, no demands. Just the two of them, content to simply be in each others company.

It seemed as though hours had passed before she felt Keith lift his head up from hers and she opened her eyes, knowing without even looking at him, that it was time to talk.

Reluctantly, she lifted her head from his shoulder and as soon as she shifted she felt his hand cup her chin and just like that her face was lifted to look into his dark eyes that swirled with such emotion she could not read them.

"Keith..." she whispered, an ache in her voice for something that she feared she would never have from him when he silenced her words by simply stealing the breath from her lips.

His mouth on hers was the gentlest kiss she had received from him, filled with such sweet tenderness that tears spilled from her eyes.

She blinked, slightly dazed when he lifted his mouth from hers and wiped the moisture away from her eyes with the pad of his thumb.

"I love you."

Allura blinked and wondered if she was somehow dreaming. There was a surreal quality about them and she trembled, praying that she wouldn't find herself waking up in bed, alone.

"Pinch me," she whispered softly, "I think I'm dreaming."

Dark, male laughter wound it's way through her soul. "Why do you think you're dreaming?"

"Because I just heard you tell me you love me...but we haven't spoken...and I..."

His mouth was on hers before she could even finish her sentence, his arms crushing her into his body and Allura slipped her arms through his, her nails digging into his back, returning his ravenous kiss.

He lifted his head after several breathless seconds, capturing her bewildered gaze with the intensity of his eyes.

"I love you Allura," he told her with a harsh finality that once more had tears sparkling in her eyes, "I love you and I am not giving you to _anyone._ Not to Lotor, not to Lance and yes I am aware of how he feels about you, and not to some archaic law that states you cannot be queen because you don't have a king."

"Keith...oh Keith..." Allura wrapped her arms around him and burst into tears. "I...I thought...I was afraid..."

"I know...Allura," he stroked her hair and allowed her to cry into his chest before he pulled her back and once again wiped away the tears from her cheeks, "I'm sorry."

She blinked up at him through wet, spiky eyelashes, looking absurdly young as she did this. "What are you apologizing for?"

She seemed genuinely puzzled by his apology.

"Because I've hurt you with my actions. I've been running for so long, I forgot how to stop and you paid the price for my foolishness. No let me finish," he placed a finger on her lips when she opened her mouth to speak, "I _was_ afraid. Afraid that if I admitted I loved you then I would lose you. Just like I lost my parents. Just like how I lost Beverly. Everyone I have ever loved has been taken from me."

"Keith, you must know I will never leave you..."

"I know Allura, but that didn't stop my irrational fear of losing you to some outside force," Keith shook his head, darkness swirling in his eyes as he forced the words that needed be spoken, "but the more I tried to keep you safe, to protect you, was when I realized I was actually causing you pain. I love you Allura, but the thought of you being in danger, of losing you, drives me to madness."

"Keith, stop...please."

This time it was Allura who wiped away the tears from his eyes; he hadn't even been aware he was crying.

She held his face in her hands, unable to look away from pain that he no longer tried to hide from her, "I love you, I think I have loved you long before I knew your name or saw your face. Yes sometimes I do get frustrated with you when I feel like you trying to lock me up but I won't stop loving you for it. We can do this, you and I together. We'll have a thousand more fights and we'll cry some more but there will be laughter and happiness and I _promise you,_ no matter what, I will _always_ love you and want you by my side."

She was in his arms again and they were kissing, their tears mingling together and yet she had never felt happier.

 _He loves me...he loves me..._

It was a litany in her head as she returned each of his kisses, until she could barely breath and didn't care.

Abruptly he pulled away and was pulling them both to their feet.

"I can't do this sitting down."

Allura stared at him, once more feeling dazed and off-kilter by the sudden change in his demeanor.

"Do what?"

Taking her hands into his, Keith drew in a deep breath...and dropped to one knee, still holding onto her hands.

"Princess Allura of Arus, daughter of King Alfor and Queen Amarya...I offer you my heart, with all of its broken pieces and my soul, which holds more darkness than light and even though I have never been anything but a soldier...will you marry me?"


	45. Chapter 45

**Author's Note:** Yes I left a major cliffhanger in the last chapter but hey at least I didn't make you wait a month...or five...for the next installment! I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. As always, all grammatical mistakes and errors are mine and mine alone.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not, nor have I ever, owned Voltron. I simply play in their world.

 **Reviews! Reviews! Reviews! If you would be so kind...**

Chapter 45

"Life had broken her;

just as it had broken him.

But when they got together,

their pieces became whole.

And they continued on

their journey, together,

mended as one."

-Steve Maraboli

"My answer is no."

Lotor opened his eyes to look at Allura. He had been meditating; not much else he could do considering where he was at.

Just over forty-eight hours had passed since he had proposed his 'alliance-by-marriage' to Allura but even that short amount was enough for him to raise his eyebrows at.

"So certain are you Allura? I thought I made it explicitly clear what would happen if you turned down my generous offer. Are you that eager to see your people enslaved again...or worse?"

"If the war you speak of truly is coming, then marrying you will not stop it."

"You don't know that. Are you willing to bet your life and the life of your planet on what? A hunch? A fallible, human instinct?"

Lotor watched every nuance of Allura's face, looking for the tell-tale signs of uncertainty...

...but there were none.

Her face was a mask of serenity with just a hint of steel in her cerulean eyes.

"Nothing so mundane as that, Prince of the Ninth Kingdom."

Lotor watched, his eyes widening a touch as her eyes began to glow softly and her voice took on a resonance that he had never heard.

 _"_ _ **War is not a certainty; it is but one path among many. There are those among the drule who do not share in Bhorn's vision of the Supremacy and would seek a different future.**_ "

Allura's eyes fluttered shut and she took in a deep breath and seemed to steady herself. When her eyes opened once more they no longer glowed with their otherworldly light. Her voice, though lovely, no long held the haunting resonance that had made the small hairs on Lotor's neck stand up on end.

"Allura...what has happened to you?"

"My tolerance with your lack of manners is over, Prince of the Ninth Kingdom. You will address me as 'Your Highness' or 'Princess'. We are _not_ friends, we have never been friends...we were barely acquaintances when my world was annexed. I am here for two reasons. One; to tell you of my decision regarding your 'proposal' and two; Galaxy Garrison has been contacted and you will be remanded into their custody as a prisoner of war. Should the Supremacy demand your return, they will have negotiate with Garrison."

Allura did not wait for his response but turned her back on the drule royal.

"Allura, wait...Princess!"

Allura only stopped when he finally used her title and turned back to give him a polite but bored look. "I have much to do and this will be the last time you will see me before your transfer, so do not waste my time."

Lotor gave a soft growl. "Do not treat me as though I am some common criminal! I _am_ a prince of the drule and as such,"

"And as such," she cut him off with a touch of frost coating her words, "you are an enemy of Arus and of Garrison, who is _my_ ally. Good bye Prince."

She did not turn back again, no matter how many times he called out to her. She would tolerate him no longer on her world.

Her 'visions' had shown her that there were other paths to be taken.

Keith was waiting for her in the adjoining hallway, patched into the communications through his comn so that he could listen in without Lotor knowing he was there.

"Keith!"

She fell into his arms, her body shaking.

"How bad this time?"

"Not bad...just...not used to joining with _him._ "

Him of course, being Voltron. As both she and Keith had suspected, Voltron had not gone back into his deep slumber. Instead he had somehow managed to forge a mental link with Allura, using her bloodline as a sort-of gateway.

That 'gateway' was also opening up her abilities, one of them as she was discovering was her sense of precognition.

"You didn't tell him."

Allura looked up at her fiancee and gave him a smug smile. "He can learn about our impending marriage when I tell everyone else. For now, I want you all to myself for as long as I can."

Keith chuckled softly before capturing her mouth in a mind-numbing kiss that threatened to steal her will.

"I never knew you were so possessive, princess."

There was a smile in his voice that made her eyes sparkle.

"When it comes to you I find I am very possessive and don't think I'm going to let you forget it anytime soon, commander."

"I think I'm going to enjoy your possessive side. Come on," he pulled them both off the wall and linked hands with her, "we need to go and find Coran and the others to deliver the news."

"Keith, wait."

Allura tugged on his hand, making him stop and look at her with furrowed brows.

"Keith...are you sure about this?"

"About what Allura?"

"About...marrying me? I know you said you did and yes, before you ask, I _do_ want to marry you. More than anything else, but I need to know...did you ask just so I would have a reason to refute Lotor or because of that ancient law my people demand I uphold?"

"Is that what this is about?"

Keith let go of her hand to capture her chin, tilting her face to look at him and watching as a charming blush stole over her porcelain skin.

"Allura I have thought many things about you but marrying you out of duty or some notion of honor, is not one of them. I asked you to marry me because I love you and I can't imagine my life without you by my side."

Allura closed her eyes and slipped her arms around his waist, pulling her face out of his hand to rest on his broad chest.

His words had put to rest the last flickering embers of her uncertainty.

"I love you Keith and I can't wait to be your wife."

Keith stroked her hair and pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you as well Allura and believe me when I say I am just as impatient to be your husband."

"Consort, actually."

Keith blinked at that, startled by the thought. Allura looked up at his suddenly dazed expression and she couldn't help what came next.

She laughed in utter delight.

"So...any guesses as to why we were suddenly summoned by Allura and Keith?"

Lance was sitting on one of the couches that he had dubbed the 'den room'. He was currently bouncing a rubber ball back and forth on the nearest wall.

"None. Though have to admit I haven't seen either one of them for a few days."

"Beats me but I guess we'll know soon enough."

The three members of the Voltron force looked to Coran, who had also been invited to the meeting, expectantly.

Coran merely sighed and shook his head. "Despite being Allura's adviser I am also in the dark as to why we were asked for."

"Huh, so even old Coran has no clue. Man, must be some deep conspiracy stuff going on."

"I warned you about his overactive imagination."

All four men turned to see Keith enter the room and their collective jaws nearly dropped when he saw his fingers firmly entwined with a smiling Allura.

"Hey guys, sorry for the wait and no Lance, no conspiracy this time."

Allura let go of Keith's hand to go and hug each of her friends. "I'm sorry I've been so distant lately, but we're here now to play catch up."

"Umm, hey Allura...I just...you know...wanted to apologize..."

"Stop right there, Lance. There is no need to apologize for that day. I know you didn't say those words to be cruel but if you need to hear it, I forgive you."

Lance had a look of utter relief cross his rugged features and he seemed to relax even further.

"Thanks. I mean it, really."

Allura smiled and nodded her head. "Now down to business. There is a reason Keith and I called all of you here. We have several things we need to tell you."

"First and foremost; Prince Lotor is being transferred to Galaxy Garrison as a prisoner of war. Colonel Hawkins has been contacted and V-15 is on route to pick up our prisoner. By this time tomorrow, he will no longer be on Arus."  
There was a round of applause and whooping from the three members but Coran remained silent. It was to him Allura looked to.

"There is no longer any reason to keep him here, Coran, we have learned all that we can. I will not give up my honor or my ethics for anything more."

Coran sighed but there was a trace of a smile on his face at her words. "I would expect nothing less from the daughter of King Alfor. I will support your decision."

"Thank you."

"But if Lotor is being transferred out," Pidge started, a puzzled look on his young face, "how will we know what to prepare for? Didn't he say something about a war?"

"As to that..." Allura looked to Keith who gave a nod of his head and addressed the team. "Allura discovered something about Voltron that you all need to know about. Voltron is alive."

"Yeah we know, we pilot the cats that make him up." Lance said with a cocky grin but Allura was shaking her head at him.

"No Lance, I mean he is _alive._ He has sentience...he has been in contact with me since...since the day day we found and lost Sven."

"Wait...sentience...you mean...he's _talking_ to you?" Lance looked like someone had just clubbed him over the head.

"In a sense, yes. It is more like a series of images that my mind interprets."

"Whoa...wait! Those readings!" Pidge turned excitedly to Hunk, his eyes practically coming out of his head, "remember all those strange spikes we kept seeing! I bet that was Voltron!"

"But how?" Hunk asked, looking at Allura with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

"My bloodline," she told him in simple terms, "I am the direct descendant of Altarus, who not only helped build Voltron, but was a sorcerer in his own right. I can only theorize as much of our knowledge about our past and Voltron was lost, but I carry a trace of that power that allows Voltron to communicate through me."

"As for the drule...if the Supremacy wants the son of Zarkon back, then they will have to deal directly with Garrison. Though from what Prince Lotor has told me and from what I have seen, he is no more than a traitor in their eyes. I doubt very much he wants to go back to the Supremacy after this."

"But what about that war Lotor was spouting off at? Or was that all a bluff and why?"

"I don't think he was bluffing. He mentioned a name that, outside of very little evidence, he was considered no more than myth."

"Bhorn, ruler of the First Kingdom."

Allura turned to Coran with wide eyes. "Yes...but how could you know Coran?"

"Long before Zarkon's plan of annexation was discovered and carried out your father attempted to contact Bhorn. He wished to seek a peaceful resolution in opening the borders between the kingdoms, so that once more explorers and diplomats could freely traverse space. It was shortly after that Zarkon contacted King Alfor, seeking 'diplomatic' relations. It was our conclusion that, though no message was directly sent by Bhorn, his consent was given through Zarkon for talks of peace."

Allura was nodding her head. "It makes sense. Prince Lotor mentioned that name when he spoke of a marriage to me."

"What!"

"Wait hold on!"

"No way!"

Allura grinned at Hunk, Lance and Pidge who had identical reactions. "Don't worry, I'm not going to marry the son of Zarkon."

"Good!" muttered Pidge, "the nerve of that jerk even asking..."

"Yeah, who needs that pointy-eared bastard when you have better looking guys right here before you."

He waggled his eyebrows at her and Allura dutifully giggled at his 'joke' but inside butterflies were erupting. She knew that her next words were going to hurt him, badly, no matter how delicately she worded them.

"Since you have turned down an alliance-by-marriage, I must assume you had your reasons." Coran looked at both Keith and Allura. "I would like to hear them, if you please."

"First, and you must understand, I have information that tells me that not all of the Supremacy is in order with King Bhorn. There is dissension among the council. It is my belief that, if handled correctly, we can topple the Supremacy with hopefully minimal bloodshed."

"Allura, how do you know this?"

That was Lance, who had dropped his jovial manner.

"I've been having...dreams...for as long as I can remember. Sometimes they are just dreams and sometimes...they are visions into the future. These dreams are what allowed me to see all of you coming for Voltron...it also allowed me to see Sven, in space and reach him when he was lost to us...and now these dreams have shown me that there are at least four leaders of the Supremacy who are not in favor of King Bhorn."

"Allura, man...your talking about some psychic stuff..."

"In the time of Altarus, all royal members of the House of Arus have always held a gift of 'psychic stuff' as you call it Lance."

All heads turned toward Coran who gave them all, save Allura, a stern look. "King Alfor himself was a born diplomat, his 'gift' was that of languages. All that he required was to listen to a language once and be fluent in it."

Everyone, including Allura, looked surprised at his words. "I...I didn't remember that. I just remembered all the balls and meetings he used to attend."

"You were but a child at the time Allura, so there was much you didn't know about your parents. I am happy to see that the line of Arus is still strong and your gift...if I remember my histories, your gift hasn't been seen in nearly three hundred years. Your many, many great-grandmother, Queen Ardythe, was said to possess the ability of foresight."

"So...does that mean we won't have to go to war after all?" Pidge asked with tentative hope.

"I don't know," Allura answered him honestly, "but I do know that I am being shown a path that might lead us away from war, or if not away, then give us a fighting chance. Right now there is much we still need to learn."

"Kinda like stumbling around in the dark, looking for a match." quipped Lance. Allura's lips quirked, for it was an apt description.

"Crude, but in all sense, correct." Keith rolled his eyes at Lance. "However that is not how we are going to be addressing Garrison when they come to pick up Lotor. We're not going to be taken by surprise by the drule like Arus was thirteen years ago. This time we have a head start and we also have Voltron."

"So," began Lance who held up his fingers, "One; Lotor is finally being shipped off to a proper cell where he belongs. Two; Voltron is...ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, _alive_ and somehow tapped into the princess. Three; our beautiful princess here now has some amazing new abilities to help us fight those pointy-eared bastards. Anything else we forgot or is this meeting adjourned?"

"Actually Lance, there is one more thing."

Keith looked around the room and leaving the wall he was leaning on, went to Allura's side.

There was no way to ease into this and Keith wasn't one for long speeches.

"I'm just going to come out and say this; I've been in love with Allura for quite some time and I have asked her to marry me."

"M- _marry!?_ "

Lance looked liked he was about to keel over. Hunk and Pidge looked between Keith and Allura, smiles blooming on their faces.

"Yes Lance," Allura said softy, "and because I also love him, I said yes. Keith will still be the commander of Voltron...but he will also be my Consort and help with the rule of Arus."

Her eyes pleaded with Lance. "I hope you will be happy for us.

"Marry...damn...never thought...well...yeah, happy."

Lance got up, staggering as though he were drunk and went to embrace Keith.

"You really are the luckiest bastard in the world, you know that?"

He whispered these words to Keith so that no one could hear them.

Keith hugged the cocky man, who somehow, had become one of his closest friends.

"I know. I intend to take good care of her."

Lance let go of Allura and gave her smile that held his roguish charm yet there was just a hint of a shadow behind that too-bright grin.

"If your happy Allura, then I'm happy for you too." He opened his arms, "hugs for family?"

Allura got up and went into his arms. "I always have hugs for family."

He let go of her more quicker than he would have normally done and with a strained look, announced that he was bushed from a long day of work and was heading off to bed.

"We'll party hard when this thing is announced more formally."

Hunk and Pidge also came over to congratulate the happy couple.

"Man, I knew something was up between you two!" Pidge exclaimed. Allura just looked at him with wide eyes. "You get real red when you talk about Keith and you always look so happy when you're with him. Keith doesn't say much, but even I can tell you make him happy."

Allura hugged the teenager to her. "Thank you Pidge."

Hunk held out his hand to Keith. "Congratulations Keith, you're a lucky man."

Keith shook Hunk's hand, not bothering to keep the grin off of his face. "I know and thank you."  
After Hunk and Pidge left, not even bothering to make up an excuse to leave the two alone together, Coran walked up to them both.

"So, it would seem you found your answer Allura."

Allura nodded her head, "I did...partly in thanks to a certain push in my direction."

"Not a push, just some encouragement to seek your own happiness."

Keith held out his hand to Coran. "I would ask for your blessing, Coran, as you are the closest person to Allura as a parent."

Coran clasped hands with the dark-eyed earth male, a smile on his weathered features. "You may and you do. I have watched over Allura since she was a very small child. I have seen the woman and the leader she has become and I am pleased to see you become her husband and ruling Consort. Welcome to the family...your Highness."


End file.
